Home Is A Long Forgotten Concept
by DeannaWinchester88
Summary: Mary and John Winchester turned to hunting after their children were killed ten years ago. When they take a case in Kansas for the first time since the fire, the two stumble across 14 year old Dean and 10 year old Sammy squatting in a boarded up shop and discover their tragic history. Will the boys come to trust them?
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:** Mary and John Winchester turned to hunting after their children were killed ten years ago. When they take a case in Kansas for the first time since the fire, the two stumble across 14 year old Dean and 10 year old Sammy squatting in a boarded up shop and discover their tragic history. Will the boys come to trust them?

**Author's Note:** Thanks to **Carolinagirl117** for beta reading this chapter and having to deal with my terrible writing habits ;)

* * *

><p>Ruffling a hand through Sam's messy curls, Dean smiled softly before pulling the blanket over Sam's body and getting to his feet. The alley was empty, but it wouldn't be for much longer. He needed to find somewhere for them to crash before it went dark. Alleys after dark weren't so much of a problem for Dean, who could, after two years of living on the streets, handle his own in a fight against the alleys after dark visitors. Dean needed to find them somewhere to sleep because he didn't want Sam to have to spend another night in the harsh elements. Winter was coming, and the temperature was already beginning to drop. They'd already spent the past three nights out in the streets, and Dean wasn't prepared to make it a forth. They needed somewhere dry, warm...ish, and safe...enough.<p>

"De..." A little voice spoke, sleepily.

"Yeah, Sammy." Dean answered softly as he turned around, unaware Sam knew he was leaving.

"Where'y going?" He asked. Dean felt a smile tug at his lips as he heard Sam's sleepy voice. Sam struggled to sit up, but Dean could see how tired he was.

"I need to find us some shelter." He stated. "Go back to sleep, I'll be back before you wake up."

"Be careful, De..." Sam's childish voice spoke.

Dean smiled at his brother's innocence. "I promise, Sammy."

* * *

><p>Walking down the street, Dean reached the grocery store and opened the door. Entering inside, he looked over at the cashier to see him busy talking to a trucker in a baseball cap about the Chief's game. Walking down the snacks aisle, Dean quickly glanced around before removing a jar of peanut butter from the shelf and stuffing it into the pocket of his coat. He then walked round to the next aisle, and took a small loaf of bread. Shoving that into his coat, Dean zipped it up before quickly but unsuspiciously walking out of the store.<p>

Making his way down the street, Dean felt quite proud of himself. He had certainly improved since the first time he tried to steal bread for Sammy when they first started living on the streets and got caught by the store owner in the process. He remembered begging and pleading with the man to not call the cops. Luckily, the owner let him off with a warning, allowing him the candy bar before threatening that he would call the cops if he ever caught him in his store again.

* * *

><p>Returning to the alley, he found Sam where he had left him, curled in a ball behind the trash can. "Hey, Sammy."<p>

"De..." Sam flickered his sleepy eyes open and smiled.

"Come on, let's get outta' here before the rain hits." Dean stated, after noticing the prominent grey clouds that screamed imminent torrential downpour.

Sam nodded as he got to his feet. Dean picked up the duffel before also taking the blanket that Sam had picked up.

"Where are we going, De?" Sam asked as they walked out of the alley and down the street. People hurried about the street, casting curious glances at the two boys but ultimately left them alone. Dean assumed it was because of his scowl.

"There's a boarded up shot on the main street, I figured no one would care if we stayed there for a bit."

* * *

><p>Reaching the boarded shop, Dean picked the the lock on the door before walking inside with Sammy in tow. He closed the door behind them before finding a light switch.<p>

"I thought we weren't allowed to put lights on." Sam stated.

"The windows are all boarded up, no one will see." Dean smiled. Sam smiled too as he nodded.

Dean proceeded to flip the switch, causing the shop to be illuminated by the warm, yellow glow of the light. The building itself had been stripped out leaving nothing but the floorboards, which were smashed and splintered in some places, and the light fittings. The room had three hanging from the ceiling by thick white cabling.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Dean remembered as he pulled the loaf of bread and jar of peanut butter out from his coat. "I got your favourite."

Sam smile grew as he saw the food. He then rushed over and bundled Dean into a hug.

"Hey, what's this for?" Dean asked with a small smile. It wasn't that Sam didn't hug him, but those hugs were becoming fewer and farther between as the kid grew up. He never took a single one for granted anymore.

"Thank you."

"For what?" Dean furrowed his eyebrows, wondering what his little brother was thanking him for.

"For taking care of me." Sam stated. "I know I can be annoying sometimes..." He began.

"Hey..." Dean interrupted him softly. "You are my little brother, there is nothing I wouldn't do for you." He smiled before opening the peanut butter and bread. Taking out two slices, he closed the bag to save the rest for another day before spreading the peanut butter with a chipped plastic knife from the duffel and giving the sandwich to Sammy. Content that his brother wasn't going to go hungry, Dean handed Sam back the red blanket which had seen better days. He knew that the things rightful place was in some garbage can, but Sam loved it. Ever since he'd been given it at the group home, Sam had grown attached to the red piece of fabric. Despite the bobbles that covered it and the unpleasant odour it carried, Sam treasured his blanket, the faults obscured by his love for the smelly thing. "You need to get some more sleep." Dean insisted.

Neither of them had got any sleep the night before because of having to run from the cop they had seen walking near the alley. This had forced them to search for somewhere else, the next day having came before their search was successful.

Sam nodded and lay down on the floor. Dean tucked the blanket around him. "Goodnight, Sammy." He paused. "This won't be for much longer." He carded a hand through his brother's light brown curls.

"Goodnight, De." Sam's eyes closed as he soon fell asleep.

* * *

><p>"So what are we dealing with?" Mary Winchester asked as she looked over at her husband in the driver's seat of their 67' Impala.<p>

"From what I've heard, it sounds like a poltergeist."

"Awesome. Where?" Mary nodded with clear enthusiasm for the case. This was short lived however as she noticed the solemn expression on her husband's face. "John?"

"Kansas." John answered in a resigned tone. Mary took a deep, calming breath before nodding. John could sense her worry start to fill the car.

Mary took a deep breath before nodding.

"Hey." John reached over and put his hand comfortingly over Mary's. "We don't have to do this one. There's plenty of other hunters who could handle it."

"No." Mary shook her head determinedly. "We can't just keep handing over cases every time they're in Kansas. We've gotta' face it sometime."

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" John asked softly John asked softly, Mary noticed the careful way he was watching her and she tried to control her painful memories..

"It's been ten years, you'd think it wouldn't still hurt this much."

* * *

><p>Pulling up in the town, John cut off the engine and exhaled. He then looked over at Mary with a gentle smile, his lips curving up and wrinkling the area around his eyes. Mary noticed he only ever had that smile when he looked at her. "Ready?"<p>

John shut the car door and locked it while waiting for Mary to get out. Together they walked down the empty street towards the given address. Apparently the poltergeist had been haunting various shops on the main street, most recently the grocery store. The owner had been complaining about how his lights seemed to be on the way out and cold spots. The grocery store would be their first stop.

* * *

><p>Walking into the store, it was nothing more than a simple town grocery store. Small in size, there seemed to be two many shelves and fridges for the limited amount of floor space the building had. Mary made her way down one of the aisles while John took another. Taking out his home-made EMF, he was disappointed to find that it wasn't picking up anything out of the ordinary. Looking up, he noticed a kid at the end of the aisle sneaking a small Hershey bar into his coat pocket.<p>

"Hey!" He shouted, startling the kid and people close by. All eyes jerked to where his were looking and stared at the boy.

The young thief's jaw dropped and turned on his heel in an instant. John was already closing the gap between them as he glance around looking for an escape. John grabbed his wrist before the boy even realized John had gotten close. The owner rushed over, a look of uncertainty covering his face as he looked back and forth between them. John knew the situation must look odd but hastily explained himself.

"Caught him slippin' a candy bar." John stated.

The boy's expression changed to that of anger. "Get off me!"

"I'm calling the cops." The owner stated. "Unless you pay for this, and extra for trying to take it in the first place."

The boy, silent now, shook his head. "I can't." He said quietly. By now, Mary had walked over to see what the fuss was all about. Her eyebrows were knitted together in curiosity as she listened to the stern owner.

"Do you want me to call the cops?" The owner stated, his stance aggressive as he folded his arms. He looked exasperated by the boy's attempts. "Just pay up."

"I. Can't!" The kid growled trying to loosen my grip on his wrist.

"Fine." The owner began to walk over to the counter, the gawking crowd parting before him. "I'm calling them."

"No please!" The boy began to beg. "Please, don't do this!"

The owner scoffed. "You're kidding, right?"

Mary walked forward. "We'll pay."

John turned to her. "What?"

The kid looked equally confused. Mary took out her purse before offering the cashier a five. "This enough?"

"Nowhere close."

Pulling out a twenty, the cashier seemed much more interested.

"That'll do." He took the twenty. "Now get outta' here you piece of trash, and don't you dare come into my store again."

The kid rushed off.

Mary watched the boy, and then followed at a slower pace. John was still staring at her wide-eyed for give the jerk of an owner twenty dollars. He caught up to her as he realized she was going to leave him and fell in step behind.

"What was that?" John asked, angrily.

"He's just a kid John. What was I supposed to do?" Mary threw over her shoulder, in an equally angry voice.

"Whatever. We need to find him 'cause I need to have a word. He's not just gonna' cheat us out a of a twenty."

"Just leave it John."

"What is it with you and this kid?" John asked with a raised eyebrow, before he realized the connection. "It's because you see Dean in him, don't you?"

Mary was silent. That was all the conformation he needed.

"It's not Dean, Mary. This kid needs to learn that he can't do something like this and get away with it."

* * *

><p>Having stopped following the two kids' trail, John was perplexed as he watched them entered the boarded shop. "What the hell?" John hurridley crossed the street leaving Mary behind him. He went over the shop and yanked open the door. The kid jumped to his feet in seconds, standing protectively in front of a bundle on the floor. "What are you doing here?" He demanded. He didn't let him answer before he continued.<p>

"Did you really think you could just take our hard earned cash! We worked for that."

"I'm sorry." The kid apologised in a less than sincere tone before throwing a punch.

John blocked it in an instant, along with the next three the kid threw before being hit across the face by the fourth. "You little shit!" He growled as he too landed a punch on the kid, his packing much more power. The kid fell to the ground, his split lip bleeding. In anger, John raised his fist.

"No!" A voice shouted as he saw a little kid run over and stand between the older kid and him.

"Sammy...no!" The eldest shouted, his tone slightly weak from having the air knocked out of him when he hit the floor.

Mary's heart sank painfully as she heard the youngest's name. Why did it have to be that. "John!" Mary grabbed hold of her husband's arm and pulled him away from the two boys. "Stop it!"

The youngest boy was now knelt beside the eldest.

"I'm fine, Sammy." She heard him reassure the younger child.

Mary looked around at the place. Everything was painfully bare and unloved, which was also a fitting description for the two children stood only a few feet away from her. "Honey, where are your parents?"

The kid's face scrunched as he heard the woman refer to him as honey but remained silent.

John looked around at the building, and noticed the lack of anything, not just parents. "What's going on here?" He asked sternly.

"De..." The youngest's tone was full of fear.

The eldest struggled to his feet and wiped away the blood from his lip. Dean then pulled Sam to his side and wrapped an arm around him to comfort him. "It's okay, Sammy."

John then noticed what he had missed. The kid was skinny, too skinny, malnourished skinny, with pale skin covered in dirt, and clothes that were equally dirty and almost threadbare. The youngest however was in better clothes that appeared newer, and although he was underweight too, he wasn't in the same ball park as the eldest. John also noticed that he obviously wasn't the only one that had lashed out at the kid at some point. The kid's face looked tender with bruises on his cheek, chin and around his eye. His knuckles were also grazed.

"Where are your parents?" Mary repeated, this time in a softer tone.

"Long story." The oldest kid stated, dismissively.

"Good, well we've got all night." John stood his ground.

"What?" The boy scoffed. "D'you think I'm gonna' tell you everything just 'cause you asked nicely?" He paused. "I don't know you, and I certainly don't trust you so no, it's not storytime."

"Honey." Mary spoke up. "We can't help you if you don't let us."

"Why do you wanna' help us?" The kid's showed slight traces of panic.

"Because you're just kids." She stated softly before sighing. "Look, we want to help."

Dean scoffed once again. "We don't need your help."

The stubbornness of the older kid left John in disbelief. He shook his head. "Are you sure about that?"

"De..." Came the youngest's small voice.

As the tall one turned to him, his expression softened before he sighed. "Fine."

"Our car's parked just down the street." John explained. "I'll go and get it." He walked out of the shop.

Mary stayed and watched silently as the two boys interacted with each other. The eldest was obviously extremely protective, which led Mary to believe that they were in fact brothers, rather than just two street children that had met. The eldest was still standing between her and the youngest.

"We're not going to hurt you, sweetie." She spoke up in an attempt to offer some reassurance.

"Yeah, that's what they all say." The older kid muttered. Those words sent a shiver down Mary's spine. _What did he mean by that? Had someone hurt them previously._ She knew from observation that something must have happened previously for them to be out on the streets but the thought of them being previously abused had never even crossed her mind.

The horn honked from outside, pulling her from her thoughts. The two boys gathered their meager amount of items before looking to her awaiting instructions. Mary motioned to the door with a wave of her hand. The boy called Sammy, stayed clutched securely to his older brother as he was led out of the house.

Mary switched the light off, before following them to the car and climbed into the passenger seat. The two boys clambered into the back. John began to drive to the motel that he had spotted earlier.

After a few minutes of silence, the taller of the two finally spoke up. "Where are you taking us?"

"Motel."

Mary caught a glimpse of the eldest's reaction in the mirror, watching as his eyes widened in fear slightly. She also noticed him pull the door handle gently to check if they had locked it. Mary's heart wrenched, what had these two boys been through?

"Why a motel?" The older boy asked. "'Cause I know I'm a little short on cash right now, but I'm not that desperate."

John's eyes widened. "Woah!" He exclaimed. "God no!" He looked back at the boy. "We need somewhere to sleep for the night, and so do you. That's all."

The boy visibly relaxed, although it was obvious that he hadn't fully left his guard down. The two seemed to have gained a small amount of respect for their help, but Mary knew it would take longer for them to be trusted.


	2. Chapter 2

_Shit!_

Dean knew he was screwed as soon as he had heard the guy shout.

_Why was everyone such a good citizen?_

Surely the country had worse problems than a 14 year old stealing a dollar candy bar from a crappy grocery store.

The guy was over in an instant, grabbing his wrist.

Dean winced slightly as his grip tightened around the bruises on his wrist. The bruises had come from having to get himself out of handcuffs a week back when he'd had been arrested. Dean had never set out to punch that cop, but he'd grabbed Sammy, and Sammy was scared. In his defense it was highly stupid of the cop to presume that Dean was just going to stand there and watch as his little brother suffered, and so he had been on the receiving end of Dean's fist.

The guy was lucky though. Dean could have punched him harder, but causing damage wasn't the reason behind the action. Dean had just needed a way to make the cop let go of Sammy and instead focus on him, which had worked brilliantly and given Sam the chance to make a break for it. What more could Dean have asked for?

He didn't care about being left to deal with the cops if that meant that Sammy was okay and not cuffed up in the back of a patrol car. Not that Dean had stayed cuffed for long. He'd managed to get himself out of them miles a good ten minutes prior to their arrival at the station. The cop, of course, knew exactly what was up and so turned to him when they pulled up outside the building and said 'Look, I know a street kid when I see one, do you not have anywhere you can go?'

Dean had answered by simply shaking his head.

The cop had then pointed to the cuffs that Dean had been trying to hide before continuing. 'If you promise me that you'll come with me into the station, then I won't put them back on you. And trust me when I say that if you try to escape, the chances of you seeing that other kid again will probably be slim because it'll be out of our hands.' The cop had been anything but threatening, as if he'd actually wanted to help. 'So please, do yourself a favour and come with me.'

Dean had been placed in a holding cell for the night and then released the next morning thanks to the cop deciding to not press charges. Dean couldn't be more thankful as he sprinted through the town and out into the fields. Reaching the old abandoned house on the outskirts of town, Dean had walked up the old pathway to the front door and knocked the secret knock. They had found the house in their first week of living on the streets and constructed their emergency plan with it in mind, Dean having made Sam promise to go to the house and wait for him if anything ever happened. Sammy had been scared by that statement, tears filling his eyes in fear of the day in which Dean may not make it back to him. Dean had tried to reassure him that he would always come back and find him, because that was what Sam was scared of most, the idea that one day he would abandon him too, just like everyone else that had ever been in their lives. Dean had soon found himself with a bundle of Sammy in his arms within seconds, lifting him into his arms and holding him close as he'd cried. Dean had shed his own tears that day too. He knew that he'd come away lucky. The thoughts had gone through his mind as he'd sat at that police station. Horrible thoughts of never seeing his little brother again, because the charges that the cops had against him were the type that saw people get put away for years. For Dean to be free and with his Sammy again was nothing short of a miracle, something that Dean had thought they'd been entitled too after everything. It had also sent Dean thinking about what Sam's life would be life without him. What would he do? He wouldn't survive on his own out on the streets. The streets were a horrible place full of horrible people. Without Dean he would have no one to look after him, no one to steal food for him, no one to help him find shelter. He wouldn't last long.

Dean looked up at the guy who had grabbed him and attempted to squirm free of his grasp but it was useless.

The owner was shouting now, orders of 'Pay up!' echoing through the store.

Dean ignored him. He didn't have a cent to his name, what could he possibly pay with?

The owner then walked off towards the counter to call the cops.

"We'll pay." Spoke a voice.

Dean turned to see a blonde woman, who he hadn't previously realised was even standing behind the man.

Her long blonde hair looked almost golden in the harsh light of the shop and fell down past her shoulders. She reminded Dean of his Mom. There was a resemblance between the two of them. This made Dean wince slightly as he remembered what they'd lost.

The woman walked over to the store owner at the counter and offered a five bill which the owner rejected, before following up with a twenty.

Dean's eyes widened as he watched. Why was she doing this? Dean didn't understand why she cared so much about him. And a twenty! He wasn't worth that. Most would have just let him rot.

The store owner did the usual store owner routine about never setting foot in the store again before Dean was able to finally pull his wrist from the guy's grip. He then promptly ran off, needing to get back to Sammy.

Back at the boarded up store, Dean walked in and over to Sam before kneeling down next to him.

"Sammy!" He began to shake him gently. "Sammy, we need to go …now."

"De?…" Answered a small voice. "What why?"

"I don't have time to explain, just come on."

Hearing the sound of door opening, Dean was on his feet in an instant. Turning round, he saw the couple from before. "What are you doing here?" He asked while positioning himself between them and Sam.

"Did you really think you could just take our hard earned cash! We worked for that." The guy stated in an aggressive tone.

Dean knew he had to protect Sammy. All they needed was enough time to get out. "I'm sorry." He apologised in a mocking tone before throwing a punch at the guy.

Sadly however, the guy knew what he was doing and was able to block every punch Dean threw at him. When he eventually land one on him though, his expression changed to one of pure anger. "You little shit!" He growled as he threw a punch back.

The guy's punch had much more power to it then Dean's own and so when his fist collided with Dean's face, it sent him flying back and falling to the floor in a heap.

Blood trickled down Dean's cheek as pain flared up from his cheek and now split lip.

Still raging, the guy raised his fist once again.

"No!" Dean heard Sam shout before he ran over and stood between him and the guy.

"Sammy…no!" Dean shouted, his tone slightly weak from having the air knocked out of him when making contact with the floor. His heart began to race in fear for his little brother, while his brain screamed in anger at himself for being stupid and letting the guy get a punch in. Dean had one job and that one job was look after Sammy. He's the one who takes the hits and the beatings and the drunken rages and the verbal abuse, not Sam. Never Sam. And now, here they were, Sam standing defenseless again a guy three times his height in defense of his older brother, and there wasn't anything he could do about it.

And then…

"John!" The blonde woman shouted, grabbing hold of her husband's arm and pulling him away from Sam and Dean. "Stop it!"

Dean sighed, thankful of the kind woman.

"De…" Sam dropped to his knees beside him.

"I'm fine, Sammy." Dean smiled at him before stroking a hand through his hair reassuringly.

"Honey, where are your parents?" The blonde woman asked, looking around at the building.

_Honey? Really?_

The guy was looking around too. "What's going on here?" He asked sternly.

"De…" Sam spoke in a scared tone.

Stumbling to his feet, Dean wiped the blood from his lip before pulling Sammy close against his side, wrapping an arm around him comfortingly and protectively. "It's okay, Sammy."

Dean could see John staring at them.

"Where are your parents?" The blonde woman repeated, this time in a softer tone.

"Long story." Dean stated in the hope that they would just leave it.

"Good, well we've got all night." The guy stated.

"What?" Dean scoffed. "D'you think I'm gonna' tell you everything just cause' you asked nicely?" He paused. "I don't know you, and I certainly don't trust you so no, it's not storytime."

"Honey." The blonde woman spoke up. "We can't help you if you don't let us."

"Why do you wanna' help us?" Dean asked.

"Because you're just kids." She stated softly before sighing. "Look, we want to help."

He scoffed once again. "We don't need your help."

The guy shook his head. "Are you sure about that?"

"De…" Sammy spoke up.

Dean turned to his little brother. He knew how this would work. The couple would give them some money, or some food before dropping them off again. Sam had only eaten two peanut butter sandwiches and an apple in the past few days and so Dean knew that he had to be lying about how hungry he actually was. Sam had been doing that a lot lately, apparently having got it into his head that he was somehow becoming a burden to Dean because he had to look after him, which was anything but the case. Sam was his little brother, and there was nothing that he wouldn't do for him. Dean knew that he had to do this for Sam and so turned back to the couple and with a sigh spoke up once again. "Fine."

"Our car's parked just down the street." The guy stated. "I'll go and get it." He walked out of the store.

The blonde woman stayed.

Dean could tell that she was watching them as he offered a reassuring smile to Sam while remaining between her and him just in case.

"We're not going to hurt you, sweetie." She stated softly.

"Yeah, that's what they all say." Dean muttered, thinking back to some of their previous foster parents.

The horn beeped from outside.

Dean picked up the blanket and duffel before turning to the woman.

She motioned towards the door.

Putting an arm around Sam's back, Dean led him out of the house and down towards the car that was parked outside. It was too dark to tell what kind of make the car was, but he could easily tell that it was black and looked old. Dean opened the door for Sam, hearing it squeak as he motioned for him to clamber in first. Sam shuffled across the leather bench before Dean got in too, dumping the duffel in the footwell and draping the blanket across Sam's legs.

The guy pulled away.

It took several minutes before he eventually decided to speak up. "Where are you taking us?"

"Motel."

Dean's eyes widened in panic.

_Crap!_

Maybe he'd been wrong about them. Maybe they were just like the rest of them.

Reaching a hand up, Dean placed it on the metal door handle before pulling it slightly to see if they had locked it. When the handle moved, he sighed in thankful relief before looking at the couple. "Why a motel?" He asked. "Cause' I know I'm poor, but I'm not that desperate."

The guy's eyes widened. "Woah!" He exclaimed. "God no!" He turned to look at Dean with an equally shocked, and somewhat disgusted expression. "We need somewhere to sleep for the night, and so do you. That's all."

Sighing thankfully once again, he looked over at Sam and lifted an arm up.

Immediately recognizing what this meant, Sam scooched across and leant against Dean's side, resting his head against his brother's chest.

Putting his arm down around him, Dean stroked his hair comfortingly.

* * *

><p>Walking into the motel room, John and Mary went in first.<p>

Mary turned to them with a smile. "You going to stand out there all night?" She joked.

The eldest kid squeezed the youngest's side reassuringly before they made their way inside too.

John had paid for two doubles so the room had two beds, one of which he placed their bag down onto before sitting down on the edge.

The eldest cautiously placed the duffel and blanket down on the floor.

"You feel like talking yet, kid?" John asked. "I mean, we don't even know your name."

"Well you haven't told me, yours." Dean retorted. "I heard her shout John, so I'm guessing that's what yours is."

John could see the kid wince slightly as he spoke his name. What was that about?

He nodded. "John Winchester." John turned to Mary. "This is Mary, my wife."

The eldest paled.

"Sweetie, are you alright?" Mary asked, alarmed by the colour the eldest's skin had just turned.

"Winchester?" The kid repeated. "John and Mary Winchester?"

They nodded.

"De?" The youngest spoke up, tugging on the hem of the eldest's shirt with a concerned expression.

Mary began to walk towards him.

The eldest immediately pushed the youngest behind him and began backing away. "Get away from us."

John furrowed an eyebrow, his patience wearing thin. "That's it, I'm calling the CPS." John stated.

The eldest's eyes widened. "No!"

"Then start talking, kid." John's tone was stern.

Glancing behind him, in a second, the eldest sprinted out of the door pulling the youngest with him.

"Hey!" John shouted, sprinting in pursuit of them.

Dean raced down the corridor, pushing Sam in front of him and telling him to run.

Sam did as he was told.

Chasing after Dean, John eventually caught up and grabbed him by the arm before pushing him back against the wall of the corridor and placing an arm across his chest to stop him from running off.

"Get off me!" Dean's voice weakly growled as he tried to free himself from John's hold.

John looked at the boy in front of him. His eyes were fearful despite the fact that his body language wasn't giving any of that fear away. The kid was obviously used to having to be strong for the youngest and so had learned how to conceal it.

"Please don't call the CPS…" Dean stated. "Please."

"Dean!" They heard the youngest scream.

John furrowed as he heard this. Thinking back to what the eldest had been calling the youngest, his eyes suddenly widened as he turned to the youngest that had tears in his eyes from panic. "Dean and Sam…" He spoke in a whisper.

The eldest looked over at Mary before back at John. "You're our parents." Dean choked out tearfully.

John stepped back, releasing his grip on the eldest and shook his head with a scoff. "Stop it!"

Dean stumbled as he regained his balance before glancing at Mary who was stood with wide eyes and her hands over her mouth.

"Why do you think we're your parents?!" John asked sternly. "Just because we have the same names as your parents. Or is it for a different reason?" His tone became bitter. "Is it cause' we have money? Huh? I bet you do this with every couple you meet, don't you. Trick them out of their hard earned money."

Dean scoffed, angrily. "How dare you."

"Our children are dead!" John shouted. "They died in a fire ten years ago!"

"No they didn't!" Dean screamed.

John raised a hand as if to punch Dean again but Mary rushed forward and grabbed his arm before he could take a swing.

The eldest shook his head as a tear trickled down his cheek. "If you wanna' hit me again, go ahead, it's not the first time someone's used me as a human punching bag."

At those words, John's anger drained away.

Sam came running over and stood behind Dean.

Dean carded a hand through Sam's curls reassuringly. "It's okay, Sammy." He then looked back up at John and Mary.

"If you're really…" John paused. "…him…then what did Mary used to say to you before you went to sleep?" He asked.

"She used to say that angels were watching over me." Dean whispered.

And with that, Mary broke down into sobbing tears.

John looked equally shocked. "Oh my god…"

Sammy was crying now. Kneeling down in front of him, Dean wrapped his arms around his back. Stroking a hand up and down the material of his shirt, Dean tried to comfort his little brother. "De…I don't wanna' go back in there…" Sam mumbled so only Dean could hear.

"I know, but you trust me right? Am I always gonna' keep you safe?" Dean asked him.

Sam nodded.

"Trust me, Sammy." Dean rested a hand on his cheek before standing back up and positioning himself in front of Sam. Dean turned to Mary and John. "You can drop us back of where you found us."

"Dean…" John began.

"Don't!" Dean cut him off in an aggressive but controlled tone. "Just…don't. We've been tossed out of places enough times, and I won't do it again. You're just going to get tired of us eventually. I won't do this to him again, not to Sammy…I wont. You either take us back to the shop or let us go."

"You're not just leaving." John replied sternly.

"You can't stop us."

"What John means is…" Mary couldn't finished her sentence before John interrupted. "I know what I mean. If there's any chance you are ours, we're not gonna' just let you walk out of here."

"Why?" Dean questioned.

"What?" John raised an eyebrow at the boy.

"You're effectively just claiming us as yours. We're not yours! You don't own us! You have only just appeared in our lives, that makes you nothing!" Dean shouted. "Stop talking about us like we're your property!" Dean paused. "Now are you gonna' take us back or can we just leave?"

"It's dark out, and it's late. Why don't you two stay the night and then we'll talk in the morning?" Mary suggested.

Dean looked down at Sammy and noticed his stifling a yawn. The kid had been through a lot the last few days, especially in the last few hours. Knowing that his little brother deserved to sleep in a bed, even if it only was for one night, Dean sighed. "Fine. One night."

Mary nodded.

Dean took hold of Sam's hand and squeezed it gently. They then walked off down the corridor. Making their way back to the room, Dean tucked Sam in before lying down in the bed beside him. He couldn't risk sleeping, not when he still didn't trust Mary and John. Even if they were their parents. Hearing the sound of Mary and John also returning to the room, Dean closed his eyes and pretended to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

_At the sound of a car pulling up outside, I glanced at the door before quickly turning to Sam._

_"Go into the bedroom and hide." I stated, putting my hands on Sam's shoulders and leading him in the direction of the bedroom._

_"No." Sam shook his head. "I can help, De."_

_I shook my head. "You can help me by being safe. Graham's drunk and you know what he's like when he's drunk."_

_Sam's eyes were filling with tears. "But what about you."_

_"You don't have to worry about me." Dean pushed Sam into the bedroom. "Go, quickly!"_

_Sam reluctantly ran off._

_The door opened a few seconds later and Graham came stumbling in, half a whiskey bottle in one hand. He slammed the door closed behind him before walking over to me._

_I could get drunk just off the scent of the alcohol that was on Graham's breath._

_"Where's your brother? Where's the little shit?" He asked._

_I shrugged._

_Graham's expression turned stern as he turned to face me. "Don't lie to me. Boy." He spoke in a threatening tone._

_"I don't know. I promise." I answered._

_"Oh, you promise?" Graham scoffed. "And what am I suppose to take from your 'promise'? This isn't the first time you've covered for the kid when he's snook out."_

_Sammy had never snuck out, that has been one of the many excuses I have given him for Sam's missing presence. I had been forced to find various places in the house in which to hide Sam when Graham was drunk, or just angry._

_"I don't know where he is." I stated._

_"You sure about that? Because I think he's here. Somewhere in the house."_

_Shit!_

_"Now you're obviously not going to tell me where the little shit is hiding, but that doesn't matter. I'm gonna find him, and then give him what's coming to him too."_

_Growling in anger, I lashed out against him, attempting to land a punch on Graham._

_Reacting instantly, Graham grabbed hold of the wrist I had swung and twisted it causing me to cry out in pain before pushing me backwards. Graham then grabbed hold of me by the hair and slammed my head hard against the wall._

_My vision began to swim._

_"Gah!" I moaned before a number of punches landed across my face and then I found myself falling to the ground as Graham had let go of me._

_"I have had the decency to invite you into my home, and this is how you repay me. You are a lying, pathetic, manipulative little fuck."_

_"You're not exactly foster parent of the year yourself." I stated weakly as I tried to hold onto consciousness as the pain increased._

_That got me a number of hard kicks in the stomach, winding me. I curled up into a ball in an attempt to shield my stomach from further blows by Graham's thick leather boots._

_I was whimpering slightly now from the pain as I struggled to keep my eyes open. "Please..." My weak tone spoke._

_"It's a bit late for that now!" Graham looked around. "Sammy!" He shouted. "Sammy!"_

_No!_

_"Get yourself in here this instant, or I'm just gonna' keep hurting Dean."_

_Please don't be stupid enough to fall for this Sammy!_

_"Come on!"_

_Silence. Good boy._

_"Fine, you were warned." Graham stood over me before stomping down on my fingers._

_"Ahh!" I screamed, reeling in my now throbbing fingers against my chest, tears raining down my cheeks._

_"It's the other hand next, Sammy!" Graham shouted._

_Suddenly, Sammy appeared in the doorway._

_"No!..." My voice trailed off in silence as I closed my eyes._

_"Ahh, Sammy." Graham turned to him with a smile. "There you are."_

_"Leave him alone..." I weakly stated. "You have me..."_

_"But do I? You're always going against me, never doing as I tell you."_

_"I'll listen..." I fought against the pain. "...just please...don't hurt him..."_

_Graham turned to Sam. "You hear that, Sammy. Big brother just saved you from a beating. Don't know why he bothered, you're hardly anything worth protecting." He then turned back to me. "But anyway, you lied, which means you need punished."_

_"No..." I moaned, tears continuing to stream down my cheeks. "No...please..." I begged pathetically, embarrassing even myself._

_"No, you have to learn your lesson." Grabbing me harshly by the shoulder, Graham dragged me through into the spare room and threw me into the wardrobe._

_"No..." I moaned. "No please..."_

_Graham closed the door and I heard the sound of it locking._

_I weakly raised a hand and knocked against the wood of the wardrobe. "Let me out..."_

_"Not until you've learnt your lesson."_

* * *

><p><em>I was starving. I had been without food for six days straight because Graham had refused to feed me. He insisted that I needed to learn my lesson and the only way to do that was through punishment.<em>

_I could hear Sam crying gently from across the room._

_"Sammy..." I called._

_A sniffle could be heard before the sound of Sam walking over. He must have sat down with his back against the wardrobe because the door moved ever so slightly under the weight of something lying against it._

_"I'm sorry, De..." Sam whimpered tearfully._

_"It's okay, Sammy...It's not your fault." I reassured, resting my head against the door of the wardrobe, feeling closer to my little brother as I did so. "Where's Graham? He'll punish you too if he finds you in here talking to me."_

_"He went out." Sam answered before pausing. "Dean...I don't know how to help you." He admitted sadly. "I'm sorry...I've tried looking for the key, but I can't find it." He sniffled. "And I tried to sneak food but..." He stopped._

_"Sam?" I asked gently, knowing that something must have happened._

_"He caught me trying to sneak food." Sam stated._

_"What did he do?" I knew instantly the reason why Sam had kept this from me. Graham had obviously hurt him, but he didn't want me to know that he was in fact hurt. Sam wouldn't have wanted to tell me because he must have thought I would have got annoyed about it. In his head, Sam saw me being beaten and locked in the wardrobe for the past few days and therefore didn't want to moan about his own pain. Oh Sammy..._

_Silence._

_"Sammy...please I'm not annoyed, I just want to know what he did." My tone was soft._

_"Burnt me with water from the kettle..." Came a whimper._

_My heart wrenched as I heard the broken tone that answered._

_"Sammy..." I began sadly._

_"It's okay...it doesn't really hurt anymore."_

_That didn't make me feel any better about the fact that I hadn't been there to protect him. Not only that, I hadn't even been there to patch him up and offer reassurance._

"Dean!" I felt someone shaking me. "Dean!"

* * *

><p>"Dean!"<p>

I opened my eyes to see Sam sitting on the bed next to me. Yawning, I sat upright against the wall.

I could see Mary and John talking across the room. It was clear though at a second glance that they were in fact arguing over something.

"Sorry for waking you, I just didn't want to be awake with them when you weren't." Sam stated.

"It's okay, I don't mind." I smiled.

"De..." Sam began. "Are they really our parents?" He asked, glancing at them. "Cause our name's not Winchester."

"It is, that's our real name." I explained.

"So why do we have Harris then?"

"Because our first foster parents wanted us to have their surname. Something about owning us, you know what they were like."

"Insane." Sam added.

I nodded. "Mary and John are our parents names. Mom also had long blonde hair like Mary's."

"So they're definitely our parents?" Sam asked.

"I don't know for sure, but everything fits. I think they're less than convinced though."

"If you think they might be our parents, then why are you so angry?"

"They haven't been parents to us, Sammy. I'm not just gonna' let them off for ten years of abandoning us. I mean, they didn't even try to find us."

"But they think that their children died in a fire. Why would they look for them if they thought they were dead?"

"Whatever, I'm still pissed."

"So we're going back to the group home?" Sam asked in a small, sad tone.

I sighed and pulled him into a hug, wrapping my arms around him reassuringly. "I'm sorry, Sammy."

Mary and John turned around and walked over.

"Look kid, I'll be straight with you. There are a lot of things out there that you don't know about, and because of these things being out there, I need to do some tests on you both just to make sure." John explained.

"Tests?" I furrowed an eyebrow.

"Yeah. All you need to do is take a swig of this." He held up a metal hip flask. "And then I need to make a little cut on your arm with this." John picked up a silver knife.

"You're not cutting, Sammy." I stated sternly.

"Look kid..." John began but I cut him off.

"Dean! My name is Dean!" I shouted angrily. "Not kid or honey or sweetie, Dean!"

"Fine, Dean...you two can either do the tests, or I'm calling CPS." John stated.

"Fine, ring them." I retorted. "Then I'll tell them that you were threatening to cut us with that knife and trying to make us drink water that could be drugged."

"It's not drugged." Mary spoke up.

"I have been living on the streets long enough to know not to trust anyone, and especially not take a drink from some random guy." I stated.

"Yesterday you said that we were your parents." John followed up.

"Doesn't work like that. You have to act like them to get that title."

"So are you gonna' let me test you, or am I just gonna have to do it by force." John threatened.

"You know what, John, you can take your knife and your flask and shove it where the sun don't shine, cause' you're not cutting my brother." I said through gritted teeth.

"Then what about you?" John asked.

"What about me?"

"You said I couldn't test your brother, you said nothing about you."

I sighed. "If you test me, will you leave my brother out of this?"

"I won't cut him, but he still needs to drink some of this. I can promise you, it's not drugged."

I thought for a second, before nodding. "Fine." Picking up the flask, I took a drink finding that it was in fact just water. I then handed it to Sam.

Sam drank some too.

"Thank you." John took back the flask. "Roll up your sleeve." He picked up the knife.

With my sleeve rolled up, John made a small cut before a slight smile appeared.

"What? Why are you smiling?" I asked.

"You're all clear."

"For what?" I furrowed an eyebrow.

"Long story." He spoke, mirroring my words from last night before putting the knife away.

"You happy now then?" I spoke in an angered tone as I pulled down my sleeve.

"Ecstatic." John replied dryly.

Mary slowly walked closer. "Are you two hungry?" She asked softly.

I shook my head.

"Truthfully?" Mary clearly didn't believe me.

"Yes." Sam answered for me.

I turned to him with a warning look.

"Dean..." Sam began in a whisper. "You haven't eaten in ages."

"I'm fine..." I whispered back in response.

"No you're not." Sam argued.

Mary, obviously having overheard what Sam had whispered, looked so upset. "When was the last time you ate, Sweetie?"

Again with the sweetie!

"That's really none of your business, lady." I answered.

John turned round and walked over. "You need to learn some respect, kid."

"Oh I have respect, you just have to earn it."

"You see, Dean..." John emphasised my name. "...unlike my wife, I'm not fooled by this whole 'you're our parents' thing. If it wasn't for her, you would have been back with the CPS by now. She apparently sees something in you that I can't, because all I can see is a cocky, disrespectful, scrounging street kid who's playing us for every cent we have. So you better watch your mouth. It's Sir and Ma'am to you." He paused. "We've already let you stay the night, and we're gonna' buy you some food, you should be thankful enough for that."

"John..." Mary began.

"So what, in your heads, you think you're some kind of saints because you've done this for us." I scoffed. "You know what, you can forget the food, we're outta' here." I turned and walked over to Sam. Picking up the blanket and the duffel from the floor, I opened the door before wrapping an arm around Sam's shoulders and walking out the door, him in tow.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** I'm looking for a Beta for this story, if anyone's interested ;)

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><p>"Cheer up, Sammy, they weren't worth getting upset over." I stated softly.<p>

"Sorry, but I really thought they could have been our parents." He sniffled.

"I know."

The lights began to flicker.

"Did the lights just flicker?" Sam asked.

"The building's old, the wiring is bound to be a bit crappy."

Sam suddenly went rigidly still.

"Sam?" I furrowed an eyebrow.

His eyes seemed to be fixed on something.

Turning slowly, my eyes widened at what I saw.

There across the room stood...

My eyes widened.

"Graham..."

He began to walk towards us.

Sam let out a terrified whimper as he backed away.

I pushed him behind me before clambering to my feet.

"But...you're dead..." I stated. "You...you died..."

"Oh, I'm still dead." Graham replied with a nod. "But that's one of the perks of being dead." He paused. "Getting the opportunity to deal with unfinished business." He stepped closer once again. "I don't think you realise how long it took me to find you two. I tried every state in the country before I found you. Once I found out what state you were in, it was just a case of tracking you down. The closest I got to a trail was the grocery store. Your fingerprints were on the door. Then a couple of hunters showed up, looking for me. I went to take them out, and what did I find...only Kansas' most pathetic brothers."

"You found us, congrats."

"Yes." He grinned before dissipating.

My eyes widened before I felt a hand around my throat and was pushed back against the wall.

"Dean!" Sam shouted in panic.

"Gah!" I moaned as I struggled due to lack of air as his hand cut off my windpipe.

"This is going to be fun." Graham smiled menacingly before throwing me with ease across the room causing me to collide with the wall and crumple to the floor.

My head was spinning as I saw him walk over.

"We have a lot of time to make up for." He stated.

"Leave him alone!" Sam shouted before running over and swinging the broken lamp from the floor at his head.

Graham deflected the hit with ease before pushing out a hand a pinning Sam back against the wall.

My eyes widened. "Sammy!"

I could see Sam struggling against whatever was holding him to the wall.

"So, where was I?" Graham landed four kicks to my stomach.

"Gah!" I moaned as his kicks seemed to be packing much more power than I remembered. Curling into a ball, I could feel a tear trickle down my cheek as the pain increased.

Graham knelt down beside me and fisted a handful of hair. "I've missed this." He smiled before slamming my head against the hard concrete of the floor multiple times.

The black spots in my vision danced as I was struggling to remain conscious.

I could vaguely hear Sam screaming.

Graham produced a knife from his pocket.

I looked up at him with half open eyes.

"It's not a good party until someone's bleeding profusely." Graham grinned. "You see, Dean...I'm gonna' kill you...Nice. And. Slowly. Then I'm gonna' kill your little shit of a brother too. And then we'll be together forever." He smiled. "Imagine the torture you're experiencing now, just a hundred times worse, for infinity. That's what it's gonna' be like." Graham ripped my t shirt so that the skin of my chest was exposed. He saw the bruises and scars. "Oh, are they all me?" He smirked. "Well let's make some more, shall we?" Graham ran the knife across my chest, drawing blood instantly.

"Ahhh!" I screamed.

"You've got some vocal chords on you." He smiled. "Just like I remember. That was always one of the perks."

I heard the sound of the door slamming open before the pain heightened as I felt something pierce into my stomach.

My eyelids began to flicker as I fought to hold onto consciousness. Sammy needed me.

I could faintly hear the sound of shots firing and shouting before the feeling of someone's hands on my face.

"Dean!" The person shouted. "Dean!" The person began to shake me.

Through, glazed eyes, unfocused eyes I could see her long, golden hair.

"Mom?" My weak voice croaked before I moaned in pain and fresh tears rolled down my cheeks.

"Dean, can you hear me?..." She asked, in a panicked tone.

I could feel my eyes closing.

"Dean...Dean..." She began to shake me. "No...no...no...stay awake."

I could hear Sam screaming my name before the darkness consumed me.

* * *

><p><strong>-John's POV-<strong>

"Dean!" I heard Sam shouting after I had burnt the poltergeist's flask. Turning, I saw Dean lying on the floor, eyes closed. I rushed over.

"He's been stabbed!" Mary stated.

Removing my belt, I tied it tight around the wound to stop the flow of blood.

I called the paramedics before looking back at Sam.

His eyes were dark red with tears and he looked terrified.

I walked over to him.

He glanced up at me with a broken expression.

Bending down, I wrapped my arms around him comfortingly before lifting him up.

Sam wrapped his arms around my neck and buried his head into my neck as he sobbed.

"It's okay, Sam, Dean's gonna' be fine." I reassured.

Sam sniffled before looking back at his brother. "I thought we were safe. Graham was dead."

I furrowed an eyebrow. "Who?"

"He was one of our foster parents." He explained. "He used to hurt Dean and me. He died."

"The man, he hurt you both?" I asked.

Sam nodded. "How could he be back, he was dead?"

The sirens of the ambulance ended our conversation as two paramedics came rushing in.

* * *

><p>Sat in the waiting room of the hospital, Mary and I were sat on either side of Sam.<p>

Sam hadn't stopped crying since the whole thing happened, not that I blamed the kid.

"Mr Winchester..." His small voice spoke up.

I looked down at him. "You can call me John."

Sam looked unsure. "When can we see Dean?"

"We have to wait for the doctors to come and get us before we can go and see him, but I'm sure they won't belong, Sam." I smiled, trying to reassure him.

Taking a better look at Sam, for a ten year old, he was small for his age and underweight, like his brother. He had burns on the skin of his hands which I presumed had been a result of the abuse they suffered at a foster home. I couldn't believe that someone would want to hurt the brothers.

"Are you hungry?" Mary asked him.

Sam shook his head.

"You said you were back at the motel sweetie." She continued.

"I'm not eating anything until Dean eats." He stated.

"I'm sure Dean would have something to say about that." Mary smiled, trying to coax Sam into eating something.

"Dean needs food more than I do." Sam explained.

I sighed. That's why Dean was stealing food at the store. He wasn't stealing food for himself, he was stealing it for Sam. How many times had Dean had to steal just so his little brother would have something to eat? And how many times had he gone without because of not having enough food for the two of them?

The door opened as a doctor walked in. "Dean's okay."

Mary and I both let out a sigh in relief.

"Thank god."

Sam smiled.

"He's beginning to come round if you'd like to see him."

We all stood up to follow the doctor before a woman walked into the room.

Sam stiffened slightly.

"Who are you?" I asked, noticing Sam's reaction.

"I'm Laura Kearns from the CPS." She answered.

I turned to Mary. "Why don't you take Sam to see his brother, I'll be through in a minute."

She nodded before smiling at Sam and leaving the room.

"You're from the CPS?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Well maybe you'd like to explain to me why these children have history of being abused by a foster parent that you apparently did checks on and have been living on the streets for the last two years."

"Mr?" She began.

"John Winchester."

"Well, Mr Winchester, if we had known about the situation, then we obviously would have done something straight away. After all, it is the interest of the children that we put first. Sam and Dean Harris ran away from their last foster homes in the June of 1991. We were unable to find them, despite countless searches that we made state wide."

"Hang on, foster homes?" John queried.

"Yes. Sam and Dean were hard to place. The foster families we contacted were only looking for one child, and those who willingly took in both Sam _and_ Dean, returned them, on average, around a week later. So we had to make a decision about what was best for the brothers. We found a suitable foster family who were looking to adopt Sam."

"You split them up?"

"Their codependency was deemed unhealthy."

"They were abused, of course they're going to be clingy. Dean is protective of Sam because he doesn't want anyone to hurt him again."

"We talked to Dean about it and told him that this was a great chance for Sam. He agreed."

"Did you give him much of a choice?" John scoffed.

"He wanted what was best for Sam too."

"So what about him? Why didn't what was best for Dean come into this? I doubt it was good for either of the boys for them to be split. I'm not surprised they ran away."

"It doesn't matter now, they're safe."

"So what's next for them?" John asked.

"Sam and Dean will be going back to the group home." She stated.

"Do you think they'll ever get fostered?"

The woman sighed. "As brothers...no..." She explained. "Sam has the best chance of fostering or adoption. He's young, which is what most couples are looking for, but even then, with a history of abuse, a codependent relationship with his brother, and a history of running away from previous foster homes, it's not looking good for either of them."

John sighed. These boys didn't deserve this. "So why does no one want to foster, Dean?"

"He is a little temperamental, especially where his little brother is concerned. This if course, like you said, is typical of a child with a lot of responsibility at a young age, and like Sam, has a history of abuse. He gets into a lot of fights, although he always says he didn't start them, he's incredibly stubborn and lacks respect, and he does become violent when he believes Sam to be in danger."

"What you've just described to me there, was just an older brother who loves the younger one." John stated.

"Mr Winchester, have you ever considered fostering?" The woman asked.

"Until today...no." He answered. "Now, definitely."

* * *

><p><strong>-Dean's POV-<strong>

_"Dean, can I talk to you for a second?" Miss Kearns asked._

_I nodded._

_"It's about your fostering status."_

_"What about it?"_

_"Well we have a couple in today who are interested in fostering."_

_I nodded._

_Miss Kearns sighed. "Problem is, Dean, they're only looking to foster Sam."_

_At that moment, after hearing those words, I felt as if my heart had been ripped from my chest. They couldn't take my little brother away from me. Not Sammy!_

_"No! I shouted._

_"Dean, be reasonable here." Miss Kearns stated. "Your brother has a chance at being fostered. He has a chance at a new life, being happy with some new foster parents."_

_"He's my brother!" I growled. "You can't split us up!"_

_"Dean, you have to think of what's best for Sam. I know you want what's best for him."_

_I nodded._

_"This is a great opportunity for Sam." Miss Kearns explained._

_I knew I couldn't be stubborn. In truth, I had no chance of being fostered. I was going to be in this place until I was old enough to look after myself and move out. But Sam, Sam had a chance. He could have a loving home, and foster parents who adored him. He could grow up happy. How could I deny him that? And if I did, what sort of older brother would I be?_

_"I wanna' meet them." I stated, trying to fight the tears that I knew were starting to build._

_"Of course." Miss Kearns nodded._

_"No!" Sam shouted. "I'm not leaving Dean!"_

_Sam hadn't took the news well, just as I knew he wouldn't._

_"Sam..." I tried._

_"No! You can't make me leave him. I'm not leaving my brother."_

_"Sam, Dean and I agree that this is your best option." Miss Kearns stated._

_Sam looked at me with an expression of betrayal._

_That nearly killed me._

_"Dean..." He began, tears falling now._

_I looked up at Miss Kearns and the foster parents. "Could I talk to my brother for a minute?"_

_They nodded and walked off._

_"Sam..."_

_"How could you agree with them? How could you do that?"_

_"You think I wanted too? You think I want any of this?" My heart wrenched. "I don't want to let you go, but she's right. You know I don't have a chance in hell at being fostered. No one will take both of us, they've tried that, and look what happened. But Sammy, you have a chance. You can get out of here, you can have a life."_

_"Yeah, but you won't be in it." Sam cried._

_"Yes I will..." I nodded, crying now myself. "Of course I will." I sniffled. "Sammy, look at me...look at me."_

_Sam looked up at me with dark, distraught eyes._

_"Stay with them for a week, then if you still want to leave by the end of the week, meet me by the stables of the old farm on the outskirts of town. I'll be there." I nodded. "Okay?"_

_Sammy nodded. "Okay, De..."_

_Miss Kearns and the foster parents walked back._

_"It's time, boys."_

_"No!" Sam shook his head before bundling into me and wrapping his arms around my neck as he buried his head against my shoulder as he sobbed._

_I was crying now as well as I tightly hugged him, never wanting to let go of him._

_Miss Kearns put a hand on Sam's shoulder. "Come on, Sam."_

_As Sam let go, I felt my heart shatter as I watched my little brother walk off down the corridor with his new foster parents and out the door._

* * *

><p>Flickering my eyes open, they felt heavy and I felt groggy.<p>

"Dean!" I heard Sam's happy voice.

Turning my head, I could see him sat on a seat beside Mary.

"Hi, Sammy." I smiled.

"How you doing, sweetie?" Mary asked.

I nodded. "Better."

"That's good. You went through one hell of an ordeal there."

"I've had worse." I stated, but instantly regretted it after seeing Mary's expression. She looked guilty and upset.

"Sorry." I apologised.

"You don't need to apologise, Dean."

"Thanks for looking after Sam." I thanked with a smile.

I then saw John walk in.

He smiled upon noticing me. "You look better, kid."

"Thanks." I smiled back.

Sam crawled up onto the bed.

I shuffled along, wincing in pain slightly but ignoring it as I lifted my arm up and wrapping it around Sam as I pulled him close.

He rested his head against my chest.

"I need to talk to you for a second." John stated to Mary.

She nodded. "We'll be right back."

They walked out the room.

Sam looked up at me. "Do you think they're coming back?"

"If they didn't care about us, Sammy, then they wouldn't have come to find us in that house." I explained.

Sam smiled. "Good. I like them."

I smiled.

* * *

><p><strong>-Third Person POV-<strong>

Mary and John walked back into the room a few minutes later.

Miss Kearns with them.

Sam and Dean's expressions changed in an instant.

"Miss Kearns..." Dean began. "It's been a while." He sighed, knowing what came next. "We going back to the group home then?"

"Not exactly."

Sam furrowed an eyebrow. "We're not?"

"No."

"Why?" Sam continued.

"Because we've fostered you." John explained.

"You...fostered...us?" Dean asked slowly.

John nodded.

"How did you get sorted out so fast, it takes months normally." Dean asked.

"Well you and Sam were listed as an emergency case and therefore the CPS decided that it was in your best interest if a placement was found for you quickly. They asked Mary and I if we would take you for the week, until everything calms down."

Dean and Sam nodded.

"Thank you, Sir. Ma'am." Dean smiled.

Sam grinned. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." John smiled.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** Blimey! Nearly 60 followers on this story! That's insane! This chapter includes another flashback, but this time you will receive the POV of both brothers instead of just having either Sam or Dean's. Thank you for all the reviews, I have read every one and I truly love hearing what you think about the story. Remember to also tell me what you would like to see happen in the story cause I'm always open for ideas. Enjoy! :)

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><p>Dean got discharged three days later with instructions from the doctor to take it easy, not do anything strenuous and get plenty of rest.<p>

Driving down the highway, John glanced in the rear view mirror to see the boys in the back. Both were asleep across the leather bench, Sam's head resting against Dean's chest, Dean arms around Sam. John smiled at the sight.

"John..." Mary began.

John turned to look at her. "Yeah."

"About what Dean said, back at the motel. Do you really think..." She paused. "That...you know...they're ours?" She asked. "I mean...like he said, everything fits perfectly. They're brothers, they're the ages that Sam and Dean would be, they have the same features, Dean knew what I said to our Dean when I put him to bed at night, they knew about the fire."

John sighed. "I don't know what to think, and that's what scares me." He answered. "If someone told me a couple of months ago that my two boys that I presumed dead ten years ago would suddenly appear in my life, I would have laughed. But...I don't know..." He paused. "I want to believe it, I really do...I just don't know how to. I mean, Dean is 14, and Sam is 10. They're not the little boys we lost."

"No, but they still could be ours." Mary stated.

John nodded. "There's always a paternity test..." He suggested. "If the boys agree of course."

Mary nodded with a smile.

"Mary..." John began.

"What?"

"I don't want you getting your hopes up, just in case this turn out to be fake. I mean, luck has never been on our side , so why would it start now?"

"I don't care if they're ours or not, that won't make me love them any less." Mary explained.

"Mary..."

"You can say what you want, John, but I know you feel the same way about them. I think you've been converted." She smiled.

I smiled too, shaking my head. "It's those damn puppy eyes that Sam gave me."

Mary laughed.

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><p><strong>-Third Person POV-<strong>

Pulling into the salvage yard, John drove up to the house before killing the engine.

"Finally." He smiled before getting out of the car.

Mary got out too before opening the boy's door. "Dean...Sam..." She spoke softly.

Dean stirred before flickering his eyes open.

"Come on sleepy heads." Mary smiled.

"Where are we?" Dean asked, rubbing his eyes and sitting upright slowly.

"Sioux Falls." She answered.

Dean furrowed an eyebrow. "Sioux Falls? Why are we in South Dakota?"

"Well the CPS foster forms require you to have an address. We don't have one, so we had to improvise."

"So you just picked some random house?" Dean asked with a confused expression.

"No." Mary shook her head. "We know the guy who owns the place."

"That fills me with confidence." Dean stated before shaking Sam's arm. "Sam...wake up."

Sam moaned before reluctantly opening his eyes.

Mary offered Dean a hand as he helped him out of the car. "You alright from here, sweetie?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah, thanks, Ma'am." He smiled.

John had gotten all their stuff out of the trunk and was proceeding to walk up the steps of the porch.

Mary closed the door of the Impala before joining John.

Sam looked up at Dean with an anxious expression.

"It's okay, Sammy." Dean whispered in reassurance before taking hold of Sam's hand and following Mary and John up the steps of the porch. He stayed behind them.

John knocked on the door. "Bobby...I know you're in there."

"He not in?" Dean asked.

"Oh he's in...he's just being himself." John answered. "Bobby, I swear to god!"

The door opened to reveal an older man with light unkept stubble, dressed in a plaid shirt, jeans and thick boots with a dark green trucker cap. He had a shotgun in one hand which he was holding behind the door. He looked at John and Mary.

"What are you doing here?" Bobby asked.

"We need a place to stay, just for a few days." Mary answered.

"You're always wanting something." Bobby stated.

John smirked. "And you've always been a grumpy bastard, but you don't see us complaining."

Bobby noticed someone standing behind Mary and John. He furrowed an eyebrow.

"When you said 'we' need a place to stay."

"That is a very long story." John stated before turning to the boys.

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><p><strong>-Bobby's POV-<strong>

As John moved, I got a view of the two kids stood on the porch. The first was a dark-haired kid with a scattering of light freckles under his eyes and across his nose. The kid was stood only a few inches away from the other kid whose hand he was holding. The kid's body language screamed protective as if he was ready to attack at any minute to defend the younger. I guessed brothers. The smaller of the two kids, who also appeared to be the younger of the two, looked small for his age and seemed much more scared by the situation than the elder. He seemed grateful to have his older brother's hand to hold, and was leaning towards him to as if to lean against the elder's side. The youngest had light brown, curly hair which looked messy and unbrushed. Both of the boys were dirty and wearing clothes that looked as if they should have been put in the bin months ago. Who the hell were these kids, and where could John and Mary have possibly found them?

"This is Sam and Dean." John stated pointing to each of them in turn in introduction.

Sam and Dean?! Weren't they the names of their kids?

I smiled regardless to my confusion. "Nice to meet you boys, I'm Bobby." I backed away from the door. "Come in."

The Winchester's and the two boys walked in.

I immediately noticed the eldest wincing as he slowly walked into the house. "You okay, boy?"

"I'm fine." He replied.

"Yeah right, what happened?" I asked.

"He got beaten up and stabbed." John answered for him, obviously knowing that the kid wasn't going to explain it himself. "Dean, couch."

"I'm fine." Dean answered.

"Dean, you know what the doctor said." John replied.

Dean reluctantly walked over to the couch and sat down.

"He always this stubborn?" I asked.

"Oh yeah." John nodded with a smirk.

I smirked. "Kid after your own heart."

John smile disappeared at my comment.

I furrowed an eyebrow. "Something I said?"

"No...no..." John shook his head. "Yeah...he is."

Weird.

Walking into the living room, the two boys were both lying asleep on the couch.

"Out like a light." I stated.

"Yeah, they're very good at that." John stated. "It's been a long couple of days, we're gonna' turn in for the night too."

Bobby nodded. "Well the room's where it's always been."

"Thanks, Bobby." Mary smiled before her and John walked off upstairs.

I was curious to know more about the boys and how they came to know Mary and John, but I was gonna' have to wait until mornin' before I found out more.

Grabbing the blanket from the back of the armchair, I carefully placed it over the boys before turning of the lamp and walking off upstairs to bed.

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><p><strong>-Sam's POV-<strong>

_Sneaking into the kitchen, I noticed the fruit bowl sat up on the counter. Positioning the stool beside the counter, I clambered up onto it before reaching across and taking an apple from the bowl._

_"You ungrateful little shit!" I heard Graham scream._

_I gasped and turned around just in time to see Graham run across the room and grab me round the stomach, pulling me off the stool. Throwing me roughly to the floor, I kept tight ahold of the apple._

_Dean had been locked in the wardrobe now for nine days. He needed food. All my previous attempts of sneaking it had resulted in me being caught and punished, but I couldn't let Dean starve. I had to keep trying._

_"Stealing my food again are we?" Graham asked. "How dare you! I thought you would have learnt your lesson by now." He grabbed one of my hands and put pressure on the burnt skin._

_"Gah!" I moaned._

_"Guess I'm just gonna have to teach you again." He smiled menacingly before picking something up._

_I turned to look at it. My eyes widened as I realised what it was. "No! No please."_

_"There's no use trying to say sorry now. You're just trying to get out of it. You stole from me, so you get punished, you know the rules." Graham kicked my side flipping me over so that I was lying on my front before striking my back with the whip._

_"Aah!" I moaned loudly in pain as tears began to trickle down my cheeks._

_"No screaming, or you'll get double." Graham stated before whipping me again, and again, and again._

_On my fifth, I couldn't hold my tongue any longer. As the whip tore at the skin of my already throbbing back, I screamed out in pain, breaking down into painful sobs too as I barely had enough strength to keep my head up. Resting my head against the floor, I begged for death. I begged for it to all be over. It was selfish, I knew that, but in that moment, death would have been a gift._

_Obviously, my scream meant that I received a further five whips, and by time he was finished, I was barely holding onto consciousness._

_Graham smiled as he towered over me. "Pathetic." He spat. "Can't take hits without crying like a baby." He mocked viciously before lifting his foot and pressing it down onto the damaged skin of my back._

_"Gah!" I bit down on my hand as I tried to silence myself._

_"If I catch you sneaking food for your brother again, I won't be so merciful next time." He walked off._

_I heard the sound of the door slamming closed._

_In his anger, Graham had forgotten about the apple that I was holding._

_I needed to get it to Dean._

_As I tried to use my arms to push myself up, I realised that I had no chance due to the fact that my whole body was shaking from the extremely high level of pain I was experiencing in my back. The only alternative was to crawl, and even that was hard._

_It took me ten minutes to reach the spare room, and by the time I had reached the wardrobe, I was practically dragging myself across the carpet._

_"Sammy..." Dean's voice called._

_Since being locked in the wardrobe, Dean had managed to force out a small piece of wood meaning that I would be able to put the apple through._

_Dropping flat on the floor, I rested my head against the soft carpet as I tried to take deep breaths to help with the pain._

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><p><strong>-Dean's POV-<strong>

_Hearing the sound of Sam entering the room, I called out for him, expecting a reply. When one never came, I instantly became worried. "Sammy?"_

_It was then that a red apple rolled through the hole in the wardrobe._

_I furrowed an eyebrow._

_How had he managed to sneak that out of the kitchen without Graham noticing?_

_"Sammy?" I called once again._

_Lying down on my stomach, I looked through the hole in the wardrobe and gasped at what I saw._

_Sam was lying face down on the carpet, pain written all over his face. His back was bleeding heavily. I knew instantly what had caused that amount of damage._

_"Sammy." My tone was soft as guilt plagued my voice._

_Slipping my hand through the hole, I found Sam's hand and took it in mine before squeezing it gently. "I'm so sorry, Sammy."_

_"Stop apologising." Sam mumbled weakly. "Wasn't you fault, De..."_

_I could hear Sam's weak breaths as he fought the pain. He was trying to be strong in front of me too._

_"Ahhh, Sammy." I sighed before moving my hand to gently stroke his hair comfortingly. "You shouldn't have done that." I stated._

_"Couldn't let you starve." He mumbled._

_"If it means you getting burnt and whipped then I can survive." I answered._

_"You haven't eaten in nine days, Dean. I had to..." His voice trailer off as he harboured a pained moan, scrunching his eyes up._

_I couldn't bear seeing my little brother like this. He was so broken and weak, and that killed me. I was supposed to be protecting him._

_"I'm gonna' get us out of here, Sammy."_

_"Dean..." Sam weakly began._

_"One day, Sammy. I promise. We just have to keep surviving until then."_


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:** To answer a recurring question being asked in the reviews, Sam is 8 and Dean is 12 in the Graham flashbacks, but just turned. All other foster parent flashbacks are set after this time unless specified not to be. Hope you enjoy the next chapter! :)

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><p><strong>-Third Person POV-<strong>

The next morning, Mary walked downstairs and into the kitchen.

Bobby was sat at the table with a mug of coffee.

"Mornin'." He smiled.

"Morning." Mary walked over to the living room to check on Sam and Dean.

They were still asleep on the couch, arms wrapped around each other.

She smiled before walking back into the kitchen and sitting down across the table from Bobby.

"You probably have a few questions." Mary stated.

"Just a few." He smiled.

"John and I found a case in Kansas, and when we were there, we found the boys sleeping in some old shop. Then some stuff happened and Dean said that we were their parents."

Bobby's eyes widened. "Are you?"

"We don't know."

"Are you going to do a paternity test to find out?"

Mary nodded.

"So how did the kid get stabbed?"

"Well the reason we went to Kansas was to deal with a poltergeist. It turned out to be the boys' abusive foster parent who had been looking for them. He attacked Dean and when we arrived, he stabbed him. John talked to a woman from the CPS when we were in the hospital and arranged for us to foster the boys so they didn't have to go back to the group home." Mary explained.

Bobby smiled. "They seem like great boys. They're lucky to have you."

"Thanks, Bobby."

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><p><strong>-Dean's POV-<strong>

_My hand was still tightly clutching Sam's as I sat slumped against the side of the wardrobe._

_Hearing the sound of the spare room door squeaking open, my eyes widened._

_"There you are you little shit!" Graham shouted._

_"No..." Sam moaned in a dangerously weak tone. "Please..."_

_"Leave him alone!" I shouted. "I swear to God, if you hurt him, I'll kill you."_

_"I would love to see that." He laughed before kicking Sam in the side causing him to moan in pain. "Get up." He waited for a second before kicking him again. "Get up!" He shouted before losing his patience and grabbing Sam roughly. Pulling him up, Sam was almost rag doll like in the way that he sagged in Graham's grip from exhaustion and pain._

_"Leave him alone!" I kicked at the wood of the door as hard as I could, over and over. I've done it a millions times before over the days I have spent locked in the wardrobe, and each time it wouldn't budge._

_"I could, but it's so fun when he screams." Graham stated._

_"You're sick." I spat._

_"Thank you."_

_I heard Sam's moans of pain as I continued to kick the door. Reeling back my foot, I gave the door one last powerful kick before it swung open._

_Graham was stood with a knife pressed to Sam's throat._

_"De..." Sam's tearful tone called weakly._

_"Grrrr!" I growled before rushing over and landing a punch across Graham's face causing him to fall backwards, dropping Sam in the process._

_Catching Sam proved difficult as he was almost a dead weight, but I was able to lower him to the floor before standing between him and Graham and grabbing the knife that he had dropped._

_"You piece of shit!" He spat, wiping away blood from his lip before charging at me._

_I deflected his first punch but was struck by his second, sending me crashing to the floor._

_Tackling me down and holding me against the floor, Graham put his arm across my throat to hold me in place._

_I gasped for breath before kneeing him in the stomach and throwing him to the side._

_Despite being winded, Graham was on me in seconds, grabbing me. As he did though, he gasped._

_I furrowed an eyebrow before I noticed the dark red seeping through his shirt. My eyes widened as I removed my hand from the handle of the knife that was now embedded in his stomach._

_Graham's eyes closed as his blood continued to flow out._

_Sam was crying now._

_Picking up the phone, I walked over to him and sat down beside him. Resting his head in my lap, I stroked his hair gently. Dialling a number, I waited._

_"CPS. Miss Kearns speaking."_

_"Miss Kearns..." I struggled. "It's...it's Dean..." I paused. "We need help."_

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><p>Gasping awake, I must have obviously been tossing and turning in my sleep because Sam was no longer in my arms and Bobby was stood beside the couch with a concerned expression.<p>

"You okay, son?" He asked.

"Where's Sam?" I asked, taking a breath to try and calm myself down.

"I sent him upstairs to watch cartoons." He answered.

I nodded.

"You wanna' talk about it?"

"Not really." I shook my head.

"It might help, and trust me, I don't judge." Bobby smiled reassuringly.

I smiled back.

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><p>"Dean, can we talk to you a minute?" John asked.<p>

"Sure." I walked into the kitchen, although I didn't like the sound of where this was going. "Is this about doing a paternity test?" I asked.

"Sorta'." John answered.

I furrowed an eyebrow. "So you're not going to do a paternity test?" I paused. "So you still think I'm lying?"

"It's not that, Dean. We just don't know if we're ready to go through with that just yet." John explained.

"You are seriously giving mixed signals here." I scoffed, shaking my head.

John furrowed an eyebrow.

"I mean, first you foster us. Then you say that you don't want to take a paternity test. What is up with that?" I asked. "If you don't want us, then just get it over with, cause' this wouldn't be the first time that we've actually found someone who's taken care of us just for them to ditch us a month down the line. I'm not putting Sammy through that again." Her name was Elisa Beech and she was the nicest foster parent we've ever had. She looked after us, treat us like her own children. I was stupid enough to actually start trusting her. I thought that she could be the parental figure that Sammy never had. But I was wrong. One minute it was all happy families, and the next, Miss Kearns from the home was at the door telling us to pack. For some reason that was never explained to us, Elisa decided that she didn't want us anymore, and so back to the group home we went. Sammy cried for weeks. I should never have let him get so close. I should have known that it was all going to go to crap, because it always does.

John walked back over. "Our children died, in a fire!"

"You both know that that's not true." I argued.

"It has been ten years...how can you be them?" John's voice became softer ever so slightly.

"Because we didn't die in that fire."

"No..." John shook his head and turned around so that he wasn't facing me.

"Why can't you accept the fact that maybe I'm right?" I asked.

"Because then I'd have to live with the fact that for ten years, my two boys have been alive and having to live without their Mom and Dad. I don't want to think about them struggling on the streets to stay alive or being abuse by a foster parent that the CPS hadn't checked out properly. I don't want to think that my eldest lost his childhood at four years old because he took on the responsibility of looking after his little brother and keeping him safe. I don't want to imagine my Dean being so desperate that he had to resort to stealing food or clothes just so his little brother wouldn't go hungry, even if that meant going hungry himself, or going without even though his clothes were in much dire need or being replaced. My children would believe that their Mom and Dad didn't love them because they hadn't tried to find them..." John's voice broke. "My Sam and Dean died in the fire that night."

"For fuck sake!" I screamed in anger, slamming my hand across the table knocking the contents to crash to the floor. "Get a grip!"

John furrowed an eyebrow.

"I get it, you're a parent and it's hard for you, but get a fucking grip!" I stated sternly. "You have absolutely no idea what it was like for us out there." I paused. "None!" I took a breath. "Getting beaten up practically everyday by Graham, if he hadn't already locked one of us in the wardrobe. Being starved for days and then punished for eating. Having to simply watch as your little brother suffered in excruciating pain after being whipped by that psycho, not being able to do anything about it, protect him, comfort him, or reassure him. That's what true pain feels like." I paused. "Being truly helpless and knowing just how screwed your life is. Wondering why you got dealt such a shit hand, and wondering what you could have possibly done to deserve it." I took a breath. "Sam and I didn't deserve anything that he did to us..." My voice began to trail off. "We hadn't done anything to deserve how he treated us."

As I looked between John and Mary, I noticed Mary's fearful expression. She looked scared of me.

"Go upstairs." Bobby stated as he walked in.

John went to argue, but Bobby shot him a look.

They walked off up the stairs.

"Is this the part where you kick me out?" I asked with a sigh. "Don't worry, I've been through this moment a million times before. Miss Kearns would call us into her office after Sam and I had been sent back to the group home to tell us the reasons why the foster parent had ditched us." I paused. "But why would anyone want to foster us?" I asked. "I have anger problems, I'm overly protective of the people I love, which in my case is Sammy, I'm codependent, violent, stubborn, disrespectful, too cocky for my own good, and have a criminal record for stealing and punching a cop." I paused. "And I'm a murderer." I sighed.

"I'm not kicking you out, Son." Bobby answered.

I furrowed an eyebrow. "You're not?"

"Son, let me tell you something." He began. "When I was a kid, my Dad was a nasty son of a bitch, just like that dickhead of a foster parent you had. He would hit me and my Mom like punchbags, just because he could, and he knew no one was gonna' stop him. Until one day, I stood up to him. I grabbed my Dad's hunting rifle and aimed it at his head. He taunted me about not being enough of a man to fire it...so I pulled the trigger." He paused. "You know what the first thing my Mom said to me was?" He asked.

I shook my head.

"Bobby, what did you do? God is gonna' punish you." He answered before smiling softly at me. "You're not a murderer, Dean."

"I killed Graham." I stated.

"No, you grabbed a knife to defend yourself and your brother with, and while he was fighting you, he fell on it." Bobby paused. "That does not make you a murderer. That makes you a kid that who was protecting his little brother."

"He still died."

"And now there's one less child abuser in the world. I see that as a plus." Bobby smiled before noticing how apprehensive I looked. "They'll come around."

"Yeah right." I laughed slightly. "Even if I had Sam and I's friggin' birth certificates, they'd probably still not believe me."

"It's just gonna' take time."

"What before they get bored of us like everyone else did and send us back to the group home?" I stated.

"No one's sending you boys back to the group home." Bobby retorted. "And anyway, there will always be a place for you here, with or without the Winchester's."

I smiled. "Thanks, Bobby."

"You're welcome, Dean."


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: **Sorry for the time it has taken to write this chapter. Here is your reward for your patience, a brand new chapter that is the longest I have written so far! :) As always, I really want to hear from you about what you think of the story and what you would like to see happen. Thanks for sticking with me and enjoy!

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><p><strong>-John's POV-<strong>

"John!" I heard Sam and Dean screaming from outside. Up in an instant, I sprinted through the living room and out the front door before running down the steps of the porch and onto the grass, I noticed Mary lying unconscious. "Mary!" I knelt down beside her, noticing the gash on her head. I turned to the boys. "What happened?" I demanded.

Dean had pushed Sam behind him. "It was an accident." He stated. "She got hit with the ball and fell."

"Mary? Mary? Can you hear me?" I shook her arm gently, but she didn't respond.

Taking my phone out of my pocket, I called 911. Getting off the phone, I turned to the boys.

Both boys looked traumatized as they looked down at Mary.

"John..." Dean began cautiously.

"Get out..." I stated as my temper rose.

"What?" He asked.

"I said get out!" He screamed.

Sam jumped slightly.

Dean put out a hand and took Sam's in his before squeezing it gently in reassurance.

Neither of the boys said a word as Dean led his little brother off towards the house.

I turned back to Mary.

Sirens could be heard as the ambulance came down the street.

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><p><strong>-Third Person POV-<strong>

"Come on, Sammy..." Dean spoke softly as he pulled his crying younger brother against his side as they walked.

"Where are we going, De?" Sam asked.

"I don't know." Dean answered truthfully. "But we'll find somewhere."

Walking round the back of the house, Dean helped his brother over the fence before climbing over himself. Making their way through the fields, they headed towards the town.

"Are we gonna' have to go back to the group home?" Sam asked in a saddened tone.

Dean sighed. "I don't know, Sammy."

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><p><strong>-Dean's POV-<strong>

The rain continued to pour down as we sought cover in an alley. Sat next to Sammy, I could see him shivering. It was already cold tonight, and the rain wasn't helping. Putting an arms around him, I pulled him against me.

Sam slumped down and rested his head against my chest as he wrapped his arms around me.

"You should get some sleep." I stated softly.

Sam nodded. "Okay, De." He closed his eyes and was soon asleep.

I sighed. How had it all ended like this? One minute everything was fine, and the next...well...we were back here. Looking down at Sam, I noticed he was still shivering. I didn't have time to grab the duffel or the blanket when we left, they were still back at the Winchester's. I shrugged out of my coat slowly, not to wake Sammy as I did so, and draped it over him to act as a blanket.

A million thoughts were running through my head. Where were we going to go? Cause we couldn't stay here. Where could I steal food from? Cause I couldn't let Sam go hungry. The major problem lay in the fact that I didn't know the area. This hadn't been a problem back in Kansas because in the two years that Sam and I spent on the streets, I had come to know every back alley, boarded up shop, abandoned house and easy to steal from grocery store. I didn't know where to begin here.

I sighed, still feeling guilty as hell. It was all my fault. Mary was hurt because of me.

"Get out!" John's voice echoed through my mind.

We'd done just that.

I hoped that she was going to be okay. I hoped for John that she would be okay, too. I don't know what he would do if anything happened to her.

Seeing a police car drive past, I knew it wouldn't be for us. John wouldn't have called the police and reported us missing, he's in the hospital with Mary. That's if they want to actually find us. This may be the lucky break they've been praying for.

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><p><strong>-Sam's POV-<strong>

I flickered my eyes open slightly. I could see Dean thinking. I hated the fact that he felt so responsible for all this. Us being back on the streets wasn't his fault. What happened to Mrs Winchester was an accident. John shouldn't have shouted at him, he hadn't done anything wrong. I could tell that he was also worried about finding us shelter and food. This time though, I was going to make him eat too, even if that meant that I had to go to a shop and steal something myself.

Dean was looking around now, obviously vigilant against anyone that might attack us and police. I knew he was annoyed by the fact that he hadn't been able to find us anywhere to sleep. Ever since we first started living on the streets, Dean has always beaten himself up whenever he's been unable to find us shelter, as if he's failing me. I don't think he realises just how grateful I am just to have him. Without him, Graham would have killed me years ago as Dean used to take the hits and the beatings for me so I wouldn't have to. Without him, I wouldn't have survived a week on the streets by myself. I would have frozen to death because of not being able to find shelter, or starved to death because he wouldn't have been there to steal from the grocery store so I had something to eat. Without him, my life would have been so different.

Shivers continued to rack my body as the rain became even heavier. My already drenched clothes couldn't absorb much more as it continued to fall on us. Brrr. It was cold. Really cold, but I couldn't say anything. I can't be anymore of a burden to Dean. Glancing down, I noticed Dean's coat over me.

"Sam?" Dean asked, noticing my eyes were open.

"It's cold, Dean. You need to put your coat on." I stated, picking it up and handing it to him.

"Sam, you're shivering." He replied.

"So are you."

"It's nothing I can't handle." He stated before hiding a yawn.

"Dean, you have to sleep." I stated.

Dean shook his head. "Not when we're in an alley like this, it's too dangerous." He explained.

"So why do you to have to stay awake?" I asked.

Dean smiled, and carded a hand through my hair. "I appreciate the offer, Sammy..."

"Dean..." I cut him off.

"I am your older brother, and it's my job to look after you." He stated. "Now what kind of older brother would I be if I made you stay up to keep watch?" He paused. "Not a very good one."

"Thanks, Dean. I really do appreciate it." I smiled.

"I know you do, Sammy." He smiled back.

I motioned to the coat. "I'm not going back to sleep until you put it on."

Dean reluctantly put his coat back on. "You're relentless." He smirked.

"Also, stop worrying about finding us food and somewhere to sleep..." I stated. "We'll figure something out." I smiled. "We always do."

Dean smiled. "Goodnight, Sammy."

I closed my eyes. "It's Sam by the way." I smiled cheekily to purposely annoy him before I found myself drifting off.

* * *

><p><strong>-Third Person POV-<strong>

Flickering her eyes open, Mary found herself in a hospital bed. Turning her head to the side, she noticed John sat in the chair beside her bedside.

"Hey." He smiled softly.

"Hey." She replied with a croaky voice and a smile.

"How you feeling?" He asked.

"Better." Mary nodded. "Where are the boys?" She furrowed an eyebrow.

John sighed.

"John, where are the boys?" Mary asked in a stronger tone.

"When you were lying there, I was scared and worried, and my temper got the better of me and I shouted at Dean for hurting you."

"It wasn't his fault, John." Mary stated.

"I know." He looked guilty as hell and I could see traces of tears from the red marks around his eyes.

"It wasn't anyone's fault. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time." She answered. "If anything, it was mine for not looking where I was going. The boys were just playing around, I should have been more careful." She explained. "They are just kids, John." Mary stated softly. "And they're fragile. Shouting at that isn't going to make them feel safe with us, it's just gonna' make them think that we're just like all the other foster parents they had that treat them like dirt and a used them at every chance they got."

"I know..." He sighed. "I screwed up."

"Where are they now?" She asked.

"I don't know." John answered.

Mary began to panic. "You don't know? What do you mean you don't know?!" She shouted. "What exactly did you say to them?"

"I told them to get out." He stated, and I could see his hands shaking as he did. "I meant for them to just go back to the house. When I went inside to apologise, they were gone."

Mary pushed back the covers and took the IV out of her arm.

"What are you doing?" John asked.

"I'm not staying here when the boys are out there." Mary stated.

"But the doctors want to keep you in for observation."

"We need to find the boys."

John nodded and helped her gently down from he bed.

* * *

><p>Mary took her phone out her bag and dialled a number.<p>

"Hello?" The voice answered.

"Bobby, oh thank god!"

"Mary? What's wrong?" Bobby asked, sensing that something was wrong instantly.

"It's the boys, Bobby. They're missing." Her tone was fearful. "I got hurt and it was an accident but John shouted at them and told them to get out, and they did. You need to find them Bobby. Anything could happen to them out there."

"Damn son of a bitch." Bobby cursed. "The next time I see him..." He began.

"It was a mistake, Bobby." Mary stated. "Just please, find the boys. They're already had to sleep on the streets overnight."

"Don't worry, I'll find them." Bobby reassured before hanging up.

* * *

><p><strong>-Dean's POV-<strong>

Walking down the street, I was in search of a shop to hopefully get some food from, and somewhere to stay the night. Finding an old building or boarded up shop in Sioux Falls was proving difficult, so each night, Sam and I were forced to sleep an alley again. I was determined that even if I couldn't find us some shelter, I was definitely going to get Sammy some food.

It was then that I noticed something. Stopping, I crouched down to take a closer look. There by the curb was a $5 bill.

I smiled, picking it up and stuffing it into the pocket of my jeans.

Walking into the shop down the street, the owner smiled as I walked in.

Making my way over to the food, I grabbed two candy bars before taking them over to the counter.

As the owner put them through the cash register, he looked over me.

"You okay, kid?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I nodded before handing him the bills.

He hesitated.

"Take them, I don't want your charity." I stated in a tone that was thankful but blunt about the matter. People shouldn't have to spend their hard-earned cash on me. And yes, you can say that I am robbing them of their hard-earned cash when I used to steal from their shops. But that's why I check out all the shops. I knew which of the shop owners were dickheads and which ones were nice. I would never steal from the nice ones.

The man sighed before ringing up the candy bars and handing me back the small change.

"Thanks." I smiled before walking out the shop.

Making my way across the car park, I heard the sound of whimpering. Stopping, I turned to see a small kid around Sam's age sat beside the newspaper stand outside.

I walked over to him.

"You okay?" I asked.

Taking a closer look at the kid, his clothes were dirty and so was he which told me that he was a street child too.

The kid shied away.

"Hey." I began softly. "You can talk to me."

He didn't answer.

"Do you have anywhere to go? Family?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Not now."

"What happened?" I asked.

"Had a fight with my Dad." He stated. "I ran away."

I sighed. "Have you tried talking to him since, I'm sure he's worried sick about you." I stated softly.

"I doubt it."

"You're his son, of course he will be." I smiled softly at him. "You should go back and try to fix things between you and your Dad. You have a home, and someone who loves you. Don't give up on that."

"You don't think he'll be mad?" The kid asked, looking up at me.

I shook my head with a reassuring smile. "He'll just be happy to have you back." I paused. "What's your name?"

"Peter."

"I'm Dean." I introduced.

He reminded me so much of Sammy. Like Sam, he was far too young to be out on the streets.

I noticed how skinny the kid was.

"You hungry?" I asked softly.

He looked up at me once again before nodding.

Taking my candy bar out of my coat pocket, I held it out to Peter. "Here."

He hesitantly looked between me and the candy bar.

"Take it." I smiled.

Peter took the candy before opening the wrapped and taking a bite.

"Thank you." He smiled.

"Go home, Peter." I smiled back.

Peter nodded as he stood up before running off.

* * *

><p>Night had fallen by now and I was still out looking for shelter. Walking down the street, I desperately hoped to find somewhere with a roof. The rain was definitely coming, it was just a matter of when.<p>

"Stop, please!" I heard someone shout.

Breaking into a run I followed the sound of the voice until I came to the store from earlier where there were a group of older boys stood around a guy on the ground. I immediately recognised the guy to be the store owner. They were standing over him and I noticed one of them kick him in the stomach.

"Hey!" I shouted, sprinting over. "Leave him alone!"

"Ahh, how cute." The first guy smirked.

I landed a punch across his face.

My advantage was height as despite the age gap, I was already taller than them. Swinging another punch at the second, I hit him dead on the nose knocking him to the ground.

It as the third guy that I was caught out by.

Delivering a punch across my face, I was knocked backwards. Before I hit the ground however, I was caught by the fourth guy and held by the arms.

"Get off me!" I shouted, trying to squirm free of his grasp.

The third guy then delivered a number of punches across my face before kneeing me in the stomach.

"Stop it!" The store owner shouted. "He's just a kid!"

"Yeah, a kid that doesn't know when to leave something alone." He stated. "Take his stuff, we're leaving."

The guy holding me reached into my pockets and took out Sam's candy bar and the change. "He hasn't got anything! Fucking waste of time!" He threw me to the ground before they ran off.

"Gah!" I moaned before glancing over at the shop owner, trying not to make eye contact, embarrassed by them stating that I was poor in front of him.

"Bastards!" The store owner shouted after them as they walked off. Getting up, he offered me a hand.

Getting to my feet, I wiped away blood from my lip. "I need to go, my brother will be getting worried." I ran off before he could say anything.

* * *

><p>Stumbling into the alley, I walked over to Sam and sat down beside him, leaning back heavily against the wall.<p>

Sam smiled before noticing the bruises on my face. "What happened?"

"Some douchebags were beating up a store owner, four against one, so I stepped in to help." I explained.

"You're hurt." Sam stated.

"It's not that bad anymore." I reassured before sighing. "I couldn't get us any food. I had managed to get some but the group took them along with the money I found."

Sam nodded. "It's okay, De."

"It's not okay, Sammy." I stated. "I'm supposed to be looking after you, and you haven't eaten in two days."

"Neither have you." Sam replied.

"Whatever." I shrugged, not really caring if I got fed. "Get some sleep, Sammy."

* * *

><p>Day three marked yet another failure. No shelter and no food. I sighed, not knowing how much longer we could go without food. Sat on the wall outside the grocery store, I sighed.<p>

"Hey, kid!" Came a voice.

I turned to see the store owner.

"I'm moving, I'm moving." I stated.

"That's not what I meant." He smiled before sitting down next to me and handing over two candy bars and some change.

I shook my head. "Don't spend your money on me. I'm not worth it.".

"Now you and I both know that's a lie. You saved my ass last night, and you didn't have to. You didn't think twice about coming to help me even when there were four of them up against you. So thank you for that." He motioned to the candy bars before sighing. "I know a street kid when I see one." He stated softly. "I want you to promise me that if you ever get desperate, then you'll come to my shop. I'll give you some food."

"You can't." I shook my head. "You've earned that money, it's not fair for you to lose out because of me."

"I am not going to let two children go hungry." He stated. "Now promise me you will."

I smiled, extremely grateful for the man's kindness. "Thank you."

* * *

><p><strong>-Bobby's POV-<strong>

It had now been three days since I had started my search. Each day having proved unsuccessful.

Driving through the town, I stopped at the entrance of every alleyway and looked down it in search of the boys. Realising that this wasn't working, I parked up and began walking.

"Dean!" I shouted. "Sam!"

Searching every one, I couldn't find them.

"Damn it boys, where are you?"

It was then that I noticed a small alleyway hidden away behind some large bins. Quickening my pace, I rushed down the alley and found two bundles asleep with their arms wrapped each other, for warmth and protection. They were both shivering heavily which wasn't being helped by their clothing which appeared to be still be wet from the previous few days.

I sighed in sympathy as I knelt down beside them and slowly put a hand on Dean's shoulder.

Dean jump slightly as he opened his eyes, his ready to defend Sammy mode coming to him instantly.

"It's okay." I stated softly. "It's just me."

"Bobby?"

I smiled. "It's me."

A smile appeared on Dean's face too as he threw his arms around me.

My smile grew. I hadn't known the boys for long, but in that time, Dean had come to trust me. Wrapping my arms around him, I was thankful that they were safe and appeared unharmed.

Pulling away, it was then that I noticed the bruises on his face.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Got into a fight." He answered. "Don't worry about it."

"That's my job." I smirked before noticing that Sam was awake now too and smiling.

"Bobby."

"Hey, champ." I looked between the boys. "How about we blow this joint and go and get you warmed up?"

They both nodded.

* * *

><p>Driving to the store in town, I parked up before getting out of the car.<p>

"Come on."

Dean and Sam got out the car.

"Where are we going?" Sam asked.

"I need some shopping." I answered before walking into the shop.

"Hi, Bobby." Mark greeted with a smile.

"Hi, I need some new clothes for the boys. Not sure of their sizes though." I stated.

"That's fine, we can work that out."

Dean walked over to me. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"You need some new clothes. You can't keep going round in those rags." I explained.

"No." He shook his head.

"Dean, I wasn't asking. You need new clothes." I insisted.

"Then give me a job at the salvage yard. I can pay you back that way." Dean stated.

"Dean..." I sighed. "I think we need to talk."

Dean sighed too.

"Why won't you accept them?" I asked.

"Because it's your money. If you're determined to buy clothes for us, then just buy some for Sammy. I don't need any, the ones I have are fine. Just please, don't waste your money on me." Dean explained. "Trust me, I'm not worth it."

I sighed. Dean's low opinion of himself saddened me because he was such a great kid. Mature for his age, responsible, well-mannered, grateful. "Don't say that." I said softly.

"Why, it's true."

"How?" I asked.

"What?" He furrowed an eyebrow.

"How are you not worth it?"

"Well, I'm a street kid, everybody sees street kids as being dirty and not worth the hassle. But before we even started living on the streets, I was still not worth it. That's why no one wanted to foster me, I was just not worth the hassle."

"You're not a street kid anymore." I stated. "You have a home, and a family."

"I haven't had a family in a long time." Dean answered. I could hear the underlying sadness in his voice as he spoke.

"Right..." I began. "You listen." I stated in a caring tone. "You are not a hassle, and you certainly are worth it. You deserve everything good in your life, Dean, you've just been through a lot to get it." I looked at Sam. "You both have." I paused. "You also do have a family. A family that have worried sick about you since you left three days ago. I have been searching all over town for you, and Mary and John have been calling every contact they have to tell them to keep a look out for you." I explained. "I am not the only one who would be upset if anything happened to you boys."

Dean and Sam nodded.

"I'm sorry I argued with you." Dean spoke up. "I just..." He paused and sighed. "I don't know...I'm just used to everyone having a reason for doing something nice. I mean the foster woman who gave us back, one day just out of the blue, she took us out for the day and bought us ice creams and a meal from a diner. I remember thinking that day that maybe this would work out with her and we could be like a proper family, and then she sent us back to the group home the next day. And that was that." Dean's head was lowered now as I was sure that I could see tears forming in his eyes.

"Sam, why don't you go and have a look around and see what things you like?" I stated with a smile, knowing that Dean would probably not want his brother to see him cry.

"Okay..." Sam nodded, obviously aware that something was wrong with Dean, but he walked off down the aisle.

"You're scared." I stated gently.

Dean scoffed. "Pathetic huh?"

"There's nothing pathetic about being scared." I answered before pausing. "You're scared that you're going to get attached to Mary and John then they're gonna' send you back..." I paused once again. "Am I right?"

He nodded.

"They love you, Dean. You and Sammy." I stated.

"They still don't believe that we're actually their kids." Dean added.

"I'll talk to them about doing a paternity test."

"They already said no." Dean explained.

"I'll talk them round." I smiled.

Dean smiled too.

"Come on, let's find your brother and get youse both some new clothes."


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:** Just a short chapter this one, but it does have some more Bobby and the boys fluff. Enjoy, and don't forget to leave a comment saying what you think of the story so far and also leave plot suggestions too :)

* * *

><p>Sat in the diner in town, I looked over the table at Sam and Dean who both looked out of their depth as they looked at the menus.<p>

"See anything you like?" I asked.

Dean looked up at me in an instant. "What?" He furrowed an eyebrow. "We get to choose?"

"Obviously, kid. I'm not just gonna' force something on ya'." I smiled.

Dean smiled too as he turned to look at Sam with a reassuring nod to say that it was okay.

Sam began to look through the menu, although he still looked anxious.

When I thought the boys had chosen, I spoke up once again. "Ready?"

"Can I have the chicken strips please, Sir?" Sam asked.

"Sure, kid, and call me Bobby."

"Okay." Sam nodded. "Sorry...Bobby."

"You don't need to keep apologising for everything either." I smiled reassuringly.

This seemed to calm Sam down slightly.

"Can I have the soup?" Dean asked. "If that's alright."

"Just soup?" I followed up, knowing the reason why the kid had chosen it was because it was the cheapest meal on the menu.

He nodded.

"Dean likes burgers." Sam stated.

"Sam!" Dean scorned under his breath turning to his younger brother.

"Does he?" I smiled. "Then why don't you order one, Dean?"

Dean turned back to me. "Are you sure?"

"Son, I've already told you that you can order what you want." I reassured.

"Thanks." Dean smiled.

* * *

><p>When the food arrived, I could see the boys tensing as they looked at the food in front of them but didn't start eating it.<p>

"It's gonna' get cold if you just stare at it." I stated.

I could see Dean's hand move as it took Sam's and squeezed it gently as if for reassurance.

I furrowed an eyebrow.

The kid looked terrified.

"Bobby's not going to hurt you." I just heard Dean whisper.

And with those words, my heart wrenched one again. Their dickhead of a foster parent must've done something to them.

"Sam..." I began softly.

The youngest turned to look at me. "I am never going to hurt you." I spoke slowly and softly. "Okay?"

He looked at Dean before nodding. "Can I use the bathroom?"

I nodded. "You don't need to ask to do that either." I smiled.

Sam nodded before walking off.

"I'm missing something here." I stated.

"Don't worry, he's not scared of you." Dean said quickly, as if I was offended by his younger brother's fear.

"I've gotta' feeling this has got something to do with Graham."

Dean nodded. "He didn't cook for us much, but when he did, he'd punish us for eating sometimes." He explained. "It was like a game to him because some days he'd just let us eat it, and others he'd get violent if you touched as much as a crumb." Dean sighed. "It had been like a week since he fed us, and Sammy and I, we were desperate..." He paused. "When he gave us it...we ate some of it and he just..." I could see the fear still in Dean's eyes as he spoke about it. "...I tried to stop him from hurting Sam but...I got knocked out, and when I woke up, Sam was in the wardrobe, beaten and bloody, crying his eyes out." He sniffed, obviously trying to compose himself. "So yeah, he gets scared when anyone but me tries to give him something to eat."

"So that's why you ate in your room." I stated as everything began to make sense.

Dean nodded.

"Do you think he'll actually eat anything?" I asked.

Dean shrugged. "Just try talking to him. He'll eat if he knows that you're not going to get hurt."

When Sam sat back down, Dean smiled softly at him.

"Sam." I began gently.

He looked over at me.

"I know that Graham did some horrible things to you and your brother, but I want you to know that I would **_never_** do anything to hurt either of you, ever. He was a horrible man, and he's rotting in hell for it. Now you two, you are nothing like him. You were just unlucky to be saddled with that bastard. He didn't deserve you." I paused. "If you don't want to eat anything, then that's fine, I won't be mad. But you and your brother haven't atein a couple of days, and you must be starving." I smiled reassuringly. "I'm never going to let anyone hurt either of you ever again, and I want to gain your trust. I know that's gonna' take some time, but we have plenty. I want you to not have to worry about eating, or asking for things...or calling me by my name, because I would never get angry you for anything like that. You boys are safe now."

Dean smiled.

Sam smiled too. "Thank you."

The innocence in his voice made me smile. "You're welcome, Sam."

Glancing at his brother briefly, Sam then began to eat one of his chicken strips.

Dean turned to me with an expression that showed his gratitude. "Thank you." He mouthed.

I winked.

How could anyone want to hurt these boys?


	9. Chapter 9

Driving back to the house, the boys had been silent. I could tell that they were scared to face John and Mary again.

Pulling up the driveway, I noticed Dean sigh as he put a hand on Sam's shoulder before squeezing it in reassurance.

"You boys okay?" I asked.

"Do we have to?" I was suprised by Sam speaking up.

"Sam..." Dean scorned under his breath.

"No, it's alright, Dean." I stated with a nod. "Do you have to what, Sam?"

"It's just..." He began. "John shouted at Dean when he hadn't done anything. It was my fault that Mrs Winchester got hurt. I hit the ball and it hit Mrs Winchester, it wasn't Dean's fault, he tried to stop it. He shouldn't have been the one that got shouted at, it should have been me. I just don't want Dean to get in trouble for something I did."

"No one's in trouble, Sam." I explained with a gentle smile although I could still see the worry in their faces. "You're scared." I spoke softly. "It's okay to admit that."

"They're gonna' be mad." Sam stated.

"I highly doubt they will be. Even if they are angry, I have known Mary and John for a long time and I can promise you that they are nothing like Graham. They're not going to punish and they're definitely not gonna hurt you."

"But what..." Sam began before stopping and looking down.

"Hey..." I spoke in a gentle tone. "It's okay." I reassured.

"What if they don't want us anymore?" Sam asked sadly. "I don't want to go back to the group home. They'll split me up from Dean and send me back to my foster home." I could see tears trickling down Sam's face as he spoke.

So thats what Sam's also been worrying about. Dean wasn't the only one that's been worried about what was going to happen to them. Both of the boys have an equal fear of being abandoned. The worst part, they weren't just abandoned last time, they got split up. Two vulnerable brothers with a history of abuse, who spent years defending each other to survive, and they made the brilliant decision to separate them. How could they be so stupid? Fostering is supposed to be what's best for the child. How is taking two brothers away from each other just after they had escaped from an extremely abusive home the answer?

Kneeling down to the kid's level, I smiled softly. "Is that what's been bothering you?"

He nodded.

My wrenched for the kid. "Sam, I can promise you that I am never going to let them send you both back there. I'll fight for you if I have to." I explained. "And I am **_never_** going to let them split up you and your brother. Okay?"

Sam nodded again tearfully before throwing his arms around me.

I smiled and wrapped my arms around him too, stroking his back comfortingly as I did.

"Thank you." He whispered into my ear.

"You're welcome, Sam."

* * *

><p>Walking into the house, I went first with Dean and Sam following close behind. We hadn't even reached the end of the corridor before Mary appeared. She caught sight of the boys.<p>

"Dean, Sam?"

"Hi Mrs Winchester." Sam spoke.

A giant relieved smile appeared on her face as she rushed over to them and pulled them both into a tight hug, tears streaming down her face as she did. "I thought we'd lost you."

"Found them in an alley in town." I explained.

Mary's expression saddened as she heard that.

"Mrs Winchester?" Sam's quiet voice spoke up once again. "I'm sorry for hurting you."

"Oh, Sam..." She sniffled. "It wasn't your fault." She smiled softly. "Accidents happen, you boys were only playing and there's no harm done." Mary reassured.

"Where's John?" I asked.

"In town looking for the boys." She answered. "You should have called to say you had found. I've been going out of my mind with worry."

"Sorry."

"It's okay, they're safe, and that's all that matters." Mary smiled.

* * *

><p>I sent the boys up to shower and change. This allowed for me to talk to Mary.<p>

"This whole fiasco did not help them. Both boys are terrified of being deemed unwanted again, and John telling them to get out hasn't had a good effect on their confidence. Dean and Sam have a major underlying fear of being sent back to the group home because the last time they were there, they got split. They don't want that to happen again, and Sam was in tears because of it earlier. These boys are fragile. They already feel as if they're not good enough for anyone because of being abused and living on the streets. They need stability...and they need to know that you and John and just going to send them back to the group home when something happens."

"I know." Mary answered sadly.

"Did you report Sam and Dean missing?" I asked.

"No." Mary sighed. "If the CPS had of caught wind of it, they would have seen the whole thing as the boys being the ones that were trying to get away from us and taken them away from us. I wanted to try and find them ourselves first and then reported them missing if we hadn't found them within a few days. But the CPS can't know about it. Our fostering status is only emergency, if we want to have any chance of fostering them properly, then we can't have them going missing hanging over our case."

I nodded, remaining silent for a few seconds before speaking up. "Mary...why are you and John so against having a paternity test. It's crippling the boys because they think that the reason you don't want to do it is because you don't want them to actually be your sons."

"That's not the reason. I love those boys, and I want them to be ours more than anything, but there are some things you don't know, and John and I don't know if we're ready to face them."

"What things?" I asked.

"I'd rather not talk about it." She answered.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:** Thanks to Guest for suggesting this amazing plot idea in the comments section. I love it and so here it is! :)

* * *

><p>John walked through the door.<p>

Dean turned to Sam quickly. "Go upstairs, now. Don't come down, I'll come and meet you."

"Dean..." Sam began but I cut him off.

"Now, Sam!"

He ran off upstairs.

I knew that John was gonna' be angry, but like hell was I gonna' let him take it out on Sam.

"Where have you been, we've been worried?" John asked as he walked over.

Dean looked at John.

"I shouldn't have told you to get out. I purely meant for you to go back to the house. But seriously, Dean, why did you run away...from us?"

Dean didn't answer.

"Well?"

"Cause' I don't trust you. For all I know, you could be just another Graham." Dean stated.

"Dean..."

"How am I supposed to know whether you're just another him or not?"

"Don't compare me with that asshole!"

"Well you've hit me before." Dean followed up. He could see John's temper rising. "How do I know that there's not going to be more to come?"

"You really think I'm capable of that?" John asked through gritted teeth.

"I think anyone's capable of anything." Dean paused. "Like Graham, he wasn't always abusing us. The first week that he fostered us, he treated us nicely, fed us, never laid a finger on us. Until the CPS were happy with him and he passed their checks. Then after that, he changed into this...monster. Beating on us everyday, starving us, whipping us until there was no skin left on our backs, locking us in the wardrobe for days on end."

He noticed John's expression.

"What's wrong...John?" Dean spoke in a mocking tone. "Bit too graphic for you?"

"Don't use that tone with me, Dean." He shook his head.

"Why, what you gonna' do...hit me again?"

"That's enough." John grabbed him by the collar and slammed him back against he wall, holding him in place.

_"You stupid shit!" Graham shouted as he held him against the wall, a hand wrapped around his throat, blocking his airway causing him to gasp for breath._

_"I'm gonna kill you, nice and slow..." Graham stated with a meaning smile. "And then I'm gonna' kill you brother..." He smirked. "Your darling little Sammy. Imagine his screams." Graham's tone made Dean feel nauseous as he knew Graham meant every word he was saying. "Screaming your name as the light goes out in his eyes."_

_A tear trickled down his cheek. "Do whatever you want to me, but please don't hurt my brother." He spoke in a saddened tone._

_"You're weak, Dean. Your little brother's gonna' die, and there's nothing you can do to stop it! What kind of a big brother are you if you can't even protect your little brother?!" Graham asked. "Pathetic!" He spat._

"John, please." Dean spoke in a sad tone as he tried to squirm out of his hold. Dean felt almost claustrophobic as he was held against the wall by John. "Please." A tear trickled down his cheek.

"You can't blame this on me, Dean. You're weak!" He stated with a sigh. "Unlike you, Dean, I can actually protect the people I care about!"

Dean flipped. Growling, he landed a punch across John's face knocking him to the ground. "You bastard!" He landed another punch. "I've always protected my brother , from everything!" Dean shouted before landing another. "I would do anything for him! I would have died for him in an instant. I still would!" And another. "How dare you call me weak! You have no idea what I have been through! None! You don't know what it's like to be abused, you don't know what it's like to be in a foster home and know that your parents don't love you cause' they've never come to find you, you don't know what it's like to have your brother snatched away from you!" And another. Tears were streaming down his cheeks now. "I hate you..." He said in a quiet tone.

Bobby came running in and gasped at what he saw. "Dean!" He rushed over and grabbed hold of Dean pulling him up and off John.

Dean kicked and squirmed, fighting to free himself of Bobby's hold. "I hate you!" He screamed at John with so much emotion in his voice.

"Dean! Dean!" Bobby shouted, trying to get through to the kid as attempted to pull him through into the other room.

Dean looked at John with a vicious expression.

"Dean! Calm down!" Bobby shouted.

Dean was still kicking and squirming trying to free himself of Bobby's hold.

"He's not worth it. Look what this is doing to you, he's not worth it. Think of Sam..."

That calmed Dean down slightly.

"What would he think if he saw you like this?"

"Get off me!" Dean shouted.

"Not until you've calmed down.

"Get off me!"

"You've already done something you're gonna' regret, you don't want to make it worse." Bobby stated softly.

"I hate him..." Dean's anger dissolved as he spoke.

Bobby sighed.

"I hate him..." Dean was sobbing now. His knees buckled beneath him as he dropped to the floor.

Bobby caught him and lowered him down. He then wrapped his arms tightly around him before beginning to gently stroke his back comfortingly.

Dean sobs were loud and filled with pain, as if every emotion he'd ever held back was coming out. Graham, living on the streets, seeing Sammy hurt, his parents, living at the group home, being separated from Sam, being abandoned. Any emotion he'd ever hidden, all came crashing down on him at once.

"It's okay, Dean." Bobby cood. "It's okay."


	11. Chapter 11

Dean was lying asleep on the couch, while Bobby was sat in the armchair next to him and John was in the kitchen.

Hearing the sound of quiet footsteps, Bobby looked up to see Sam stood at the top of the stairs with a worried expression.

Bobby smiled reassuringly at him. "It's okay, son."

Sam cautiously walked down the stairs, glancing down the hallway to see John in the kitchen before walking into the living room. He then noticed Dean. His eyes widened in panic as he rushed over to him.

"Sam." Bobby spoke softly. "Let your brother sleep, he's exhausted."

Sam glanced between Dean and Bobby, maintaining his worried expression, before nodding and walking back over to Bobby.

"Is he okay?" Sam asked.

"He's fine, Sam." Bobby smiled at the youngest's concern for his older brother.

"I'm sorry for being a pain at the diner, Mr Singer." Sam apologised.

"Sam, you can call me Bobby." He stated with a smile. "And you don't have to say sorry, you were just scared, and that's nothing to apologise for."

"Okay." He nodded.

"Do you and your brother always call people by title?"

"Our first foster parents made us, so it's just force of habit now. We got shouted at if we didn't." Sam answered.

"So how many foster parents have you had?"

"Seven including John and Mary." Sam stated.

"So Dean's had six?" Bobby asked.

Sam nodded. "But I wasn't with those ones by myself for very long. I ran away at the end of the week because me and Dean had a deal where if I didn't like it, he would meet me by the old farm and then we would run away together. So that's what we did."

"So were all your foster parents bad?"

Sam shook his head. "Just the Harris' and Graham. The others just didn't like us enough to keep us."

Bobby's heart wrenched for the kid as he said those words. "What reasons did they have for sending you back?"

"Well the CPS took us away from the Harris', then we were with Graham for three years and got took back to the group home. We were with our next foster parents for two weeks because they decided they didn't want us because of Dean's temper, then we were with our next foster parents for a month because they said we were only a trial to see if they wanted to have kids of their own. After that we had Mrs Beech for 3 months until she gave us back too. She never said why she didn't want us anymore, Mrs Kearns just showed up at the door one day and told us to get our stuff because we were going back to the group then. Then they split me and Dean up, and we ran away and lived on the streets." Sam explained.

"How old were you when you were first fostered?" Bobby asked.

"I can't remember. But I do know that we were put in a foster home after the fire. Dean told me one night about it. Apparently he ran into my room and grabbed me from my crib before running out the front door."

Bobby began to work out a date in his head. "You were only six months old when the fire happened?!" His eyes widened in shock.

"I don't remember the house, or Mom, or Dad. I just remember our foster parents and living in the foster home in between being fostered." Sam explained.

The kid grew up in the system with no idea what life was like before. Imagine growing up to find you don't have a Mom or Dad and having to deal with the idea that they died before you were even born. Not having a home, instead having to live in a group one with others kids. These were all things that he couldn't imagine anyone having to go through.

"Why's Mr Winchester being so mean to Dean? I mean he wasn't before." Sam asked.

"I don't know, Sam."

Those words triggered something in Bobby's head as he stopped to think for a minute. "Sam, you're a genius!" He smiled at the kid.

"I am?"

"Yes." Bobby nodded. "You most certainly are." He rushed off.

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><p>In place, Bobby watched as John made his way down the hallway. Backing up so that he was hidden behind the doorframe, he listened to the sound of his footsteps as he came closer.<p>

3

2

1

Springing from his hiding place, Bobby grabbed John, wrapping one arm round his neck as he put his other hand over his mouth forcing salt into it. "Get out of my friend you son of a bitch!"

John screamed before the spirit expelled from his body and dissipated.

John collapsed to the ground.

I knelt down beside him, beginning to shake his arm. "John! John!"

Mary came rushing in. "John?"

"I had my suspicions, and I was right." Bobby stated.

"Right about what?" She asked.

"He was possessed by a ghost." He explained.

"Oh my god!" Mary gasped, looking down at her husband. "John, honey." She looked at Bobby. "Who was possessing him?"

"The only ghost that John has been exposed to recently that wants the boys to suffer."

"Graham?!" Mary gasped once again. "But we salt and burned him."

"Something's obviously keeping him here. We're gonna' have to ask the boys if he had any personal possessions." He then paused. "The question is though, how long has he been possessed?" Bobby stated. "What was John and what was that ghosty SOB?"

"What happened to his face?" Mary asked.

"Oh, emm...that was Dean."

Mary's eyes widened. "This...was Dean?"

Bobby nodded. "It wasn't his fault, Graham said everything he knew would set the kid's temper off. He knew exactly what makes Dean tick and used them all against him. I managed to get him off John but the kid's wrecked, Mary. I don't know how we're gonna' explain this to the boys."

"We'll think of something." Mary stroked a hand across her husband's forehead. "He did a hell of a job on him."

"I've never seen the kid so angry. But I overheard John saying something along the lines of Dean not being strong enough to protect Sam, and obviously that didn't fair well with Dean."

"What the hell am I going to tell the CPS?" Mary asked.

"Tell them that John got jumped."

"They're gonna' want to interview the kids and I doubt they're gonna' lie for us. They hate us right now."

"They don't hate you, Mary, and Dean doesn't hate John, he hates Graham and he was possessing John." Bobby explained softly.

"What are we going to say?" Mary scoffed. "Sam, Dean, we really want to foster you properly but first we need to tell you that we hunt the supernatural. John didn't mean any of the things he said to you, he was just possessed by the ghost of the foster parent who used to abuse you. I promise we're not insane." I could see tears in her eyes.

"Mary..." Bobby sighed. "They're not gonna' hate you, it's just gonna' take some time for them to process it all."

"But they weren't supposed to know. They were supposed to be kids and grow up like normal kids without knowing about all this crap."

"They still can." Bobby stated reassuringly. "And anyway, these kids, they haven't been kids in quite some time. I was talking to Sam earlier. He told me about how many foster parents they'd had. The poor kid grew up in system, he was only six months old when he got put in the group home, and Dean was only four. They've both grown up in an unloving environment. Their first foster parents were apparently bad to them too. They got taken away from them."

"So they had two abusive foster parents?"

Bobby nodded. "And then the ones after that just kept giving them back for various reasons. Some didn't like Dean's temper, others just wanted to try having them around for a week to see if they wanted to actually have kids themselves." Bobby's tone was filled with anger. "I mean, who does that to a kid?!"

"How could anyone not love these two boys?"

"Mary..." Bobby began. "If you want them to choose you and John, then you need to talk to them cause' right now, they think you don't want them."

"What am I supposed to say?" She asked sadly.

"Well what would you say right now if Sam and Dean were actually your kids?"

Mary inhaled sharply at that question. Her boys. The boys that she had never really had the chance to love and care for. Her boys. Snatched away from her ten years ago.

"Emmm...I'd tell them that I love them and that it was okay, cause' I was going to take care of them and make sure nothing ever hurt them again. I would tell them that I've always love them because they're mine and that there's nothing in this world that I wouldn't do for them." She broke down into tears.

"Mrs Winchester?" Came a small voice.

Mary turned to see Sam standing next to her. "Sam, honey." She went to dry her tears, but before she had the chance, Sam had thrown himself at her and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face into her shoulder.

Mary smiled as she wrapped her arms around him too in a tight embrace.

Bobby smiled too.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note:** Thank you for all the amazing reviews, I have enjoyed reading them so much! Here is the next chapter, hope you like it and don't forget to leave a comment saying what you think of the story so far and also leave plot suggestions too :)

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><p>"Mrs Winchester?" Came Sam's small voice.<p>

Mary sniffled and looked down at the small kid huddled against her. "Yes, sweetie?"

"Are you sad because you don't think we're your Sam and Dean?" Sam asked.

"Of course not..." She shook her head.

"Because even if we're not your Sam and Dean, we still could be you Sam and Dean if you wanted us to be." Sam paused. "Please don't send us back to the group home, Mrs Winchester." Spoke his sad tone. "Dean didn't mean to get mad." He defended.

"Oh, sweetie." Mary began with a soft smile. "You and Dean don't have to be anything. You could still be you and we wouldn't love you any less." She explained. "And we're not going to send you back to the group home."

"You're not?" Sam looked up with a tearful expression that was laced with worry.

"No." She shook her head before pulling him closer.

"Thank you." He smiled, burying his head against her shoulder.

A groan could be heard as Mary and Bobby turned in an instant to see John flickering his eyes open.

"John?" Mary asked.

"Gah." He looked up at the three of them with a confused expression. "What happened?"

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><p>"What am I supposed to do?" John asked, once the events that took place during his possession had been explained to him. "The kid hates me. Dean's not exactly just gonna' shrug it off, he actually, genuinely hates me right now. And who blames him?!"<p>

"John, you gotta' remember that none of this was you. And none of it was your fault." Bobby spoke up.

"Then who's fault was it?" John asked. "I was the one that wasn't strong enough the fight the ghost's possession. I should have been able to, but I couldn't."

"Don't be so hard on yourself." Bobby stated. "That ghost was a nasty son of a bitch."

"I still don't know how we're gonna' explain this to the boys." Mary added.

"You need to talk to Dean, John." Bobby stated.

"I'll be lucky if the kid will even be in the same room as me, nevermind talk to me." John sighed before standing up and walking out of the kitchen, making his way down the hallway to the living room.

Seeing John walk into the room, Sam's eyes widened before he began to shake Dean's arm. "De..."

Sam's fearful tone obviously triggered Dean's big brother senses as he was alert in seconds, clambering off the couch and standing between his little brother and John. "Dean...Sam..." John began but was cut off.

"Get away from my brother!" Dean shouted.

"Dean." Bobby walked into the room. "He just wants to talk."

"Why?"

"Because there are some things that you need to know." John explained.

"Like what?" Dean furrowed an eyebrow.

John sighed. "Sam...why don't you go and see Mary in the kitchen. She needs some help cleaning up."

Dean furrowed an eyebrow but turned to Sam and smiling reassuringly at him.

Sam then nodded before walking out of the room and down the hallway.

"So, what did you have to tell me?"

* * *

><p>"Monsters?!" Dean scoffed. "You want us to believe that 'monsters' are real?" He asked.<p>

"I know it's hard to get your head around..." John began.

"This is ridiculous! You're insane!"

"Dean..." Bobby cut in. "He's telling the truth."

Dean stopped and slowly turned to face Bobby. As he saw his expression, Dean knew that everything that John had just explained was true.

Bobby knew that the boy trusted him and therefore took his word over John's which was why an expression of realisation was appearing on Dean's face.

"Dean...when I said those things to you..." He paused. "I was possessed by a ghost." John stated.

"A ghost?" Dean's eyes widened. "You can get possessed by a ghost?"

John nodded. "And it wasn't just any ghost..." He sighed. "It was Graham."

"Graham?" Dean gasped with a panicked expression. "But he was dead. I killed him. I thought when he came back at that house...I thought that was it...You killed him? Didn't you?"

"I thought I had...but something's keeping him here. Some form of personal possession." John explained. "It would have be something he really cared about."

Dean stopped and thought for a few seconds. "He had this...ring with his initials on it." He stated.

"Do you know what happened it?"

Dean shrugged. "We got taken away from the house the day he died. I don't know what happened to him or his stuff after that."

John sighed. "Damn."

"But he was wearing it when he died." Dean added.

John immediately gained interest once again. "So there's a chance he could have been buried with it?"

"Probably." Dean nodded. "I mean, it was something he really cared about. Why wouldn't he have been buried with it on."

John smiled softly before placing a hand on his shoulder. "I really am sorry, Dean. I tried to break free from his possession but I wasn't strong enough." He apologised. "The things he said to you..." John paused. "They were horrible things...and most importantly, they weren't true."

"So that wasn't you talking?" Dean asked.

John shook his head. "No."

The kid still looked upset.

"Hey..." He spoke softly. "You're not weak, Dean. You are the strongest person I have ever met."

Dean scoffed quietly. "You're just saying that."

He shook his head. "Most adults would struggle to deal with what you went through, nevermind a kid." He stated. "You are fourteen years old, Dean. You've looked after your brother through impossible situations, you've been through things that most people could never imagine, and you're still standing." John smiled. "So no...I'm not just saying that. It's the truth."

"Thanks." Dean smiled. "And I wanna' help."

John furrowed an eyebrow. "What?"

"With the whole supernatural hunting thing, I wanna' help."

"Dean..." He began. "I'm not teaching you."

"Why not?" Dean asked.

"It's too dangerous."

"Well you just said I was the strongest person you've ever met." Dean stated, using John's own words against him. "I'm sure I can handle it."

Bobby smirked at the kid's response.

John turned to Bobby. "Don't just smirk, back me up here. It's too dangerous." He stated.

"Hey, I don't want the kid going out there anymore than you do, but if he knows the bare basics about the stuff than at least he can defend himself and his brother if anything ever happened." Bobby answered.

John turned back to Dean. "Research only."

"Fine." Dean smiled.

"And I mean only research, Dean."

"Okay, okay. I hear ya'." He grinned. "And you can't tell, Sam."

"Obviously." Bobby stated. "We weren't planning on it."

"Then it's settled then." Dean looked up at John. "So when do I start?"


	13. Chapter 13

_Dean's eyes opened in a flash at the strong stench of smoke. Sitting upright in bed, he gasped at the sight of the hallway on fire. "Mom! Dad!" He screamed._

_"Dean!" Came John's panicked response._

_"Daddy!" Tears were streaming down his cheeks now in fear as the fire was drawing nearer to his room._

_"It's okay, Dean. We'll get you outta' there. Hold on!"_

_Hearing another voice, Dean furrowed an eyebrow before realisation of where it was coming from kicked in._

_Jumping down from his bed, Dean rushed over to the door that linked between their rooms and opened it._

_Sam was wailing in his crib, clearly scared._

_Running over, Dean clambered up the wooden side before reaching over and clicking the pegs at the top, like he had seen Mary do. The side of the crib dropped down allowing Dean to crawl into the crib and kneel on the small mattress next to his brother. "Sammy..." He spoke softly, trying to get his little brother to stop crying. Dean put a hand out and gently took his little brother's tiny hand in his. "Hey...It's okay, Sammy."_

_Sam's eyes flickered to his brother as he stared up at him._

_Glancing behind him, Dean saw that the flames had now spread into his room._

_He gasped._

_Gently wrapping his arms around Sam, Dean lifted him from the crib into his arms, trying to balance him while he picked up the blanket with his other hands. Successfully doing this, Dean wrapped the blanket around his little brother before looking around for a way out. He couldn't go back the way he came because of the flames, the hallway was blocked too. The only route he could see out of the house was out the window._

_Walking over, he once again tried to balance Sam as he climbed up on the windowsill and pushed open the window._

_Looking down at the drop, Dean began to panic. It was too high to just jump from. Looking around, he noticed the roof of the back porch slightly further down. Getting to it was going to be a struggle, but it was better than attempting to drop down the whole distance._

_Carefully climbing out of the window, Dean hugged Sam close to his chest as he shuffled along and grabbed hold of the drainpipe. Slowly beginning to step down using the rungs, Dean soon found himself with a safe enough drop down to the roof of the porch._

_Landing, Dean knew the next bit was going to be the hard bit. Hearing the sound of crackling, he looked up to see flames coming out of the window of Sammy's nursery. Looking around, Dean was panicked by the fact that he was still to see his Mom and Dad come out of the house. Were they still inside? The sound of Sammy light sobs alerted Dean to the fact that he had to keep moving and get his little brother out of danger. Walking down to the end of the porch roof, Dean sat down on the edge and took a deep breath._

_It was a long drop._

_Looking down at his brother, Sam had wriggled out of the blanket slightly, so Dean re-wrapped it around him before gently pressing a kiss to Sam's forehead at the sight of his little brother's watery eyes._

_Dean wasn't the only one who was scared._

_Taking another deep breath. Then another, Dean pulled Sam closer before allowing them to drop._

_The feeling of falling wasn't the most frightening part for Dean. It was the knowledge that the ground was coming for him, and it wasn't slowing down._

_Dean swung himself round so that he would hit the ground before his brother, and in a matter of seconds, collided with the ground._

_"Gahh!" Dean cried out in pain as he looked down at his arm. He tried to move it but couldn't._

_The sound of his brother's pained cry caused Sammy to start crying too._

_"Shhh..." Dean began to coo. "It's okay, Sammy." He repeated over and over._

_Stumbling to his feet, Dean walked away from the house, looking back at it with tear filled eyes._

_Where were their Mom and Dad?_

_Dean walked until he came to the fence at the far end of the garden. Sitting down, he gently lowered Sam down so that he was lying across him, head resting against his arm. "Please stop crying." He spoke softly, although there were tears trickling down his cheeks too. "It's okay, Sammy."_

_In truth, Dean didn't even believe his own words. He didn't know if it was going to be okay. He didn't know what was going to happen._

_"Your big brother's going to look after you." Dean spoke with a slight smile. Wrapping the blanket around his little brother to keep him warm, Dean then pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I'm never going to let anything happen to you."_


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note:** I have decided that I am going to revert this story back to it's original format of just being about the boys. I have continued it from the point it left off with them still being younger. If you want to continue to read Jamie's story, you'll find it on my profile as **The Forgotten Winchester**. I hope you like the new chapter and I really want to know your thoughts and plot suggestions for the story. Because of this story previously having more chapters it means that the reviews are appearing on that chapter from the old chapters so you might now be able to review. If that is the case, just send me a message :) I would love to hear from you

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><p>Dean gasped and bolted upright. He hadn't dreamt of the night of the fire in years. The events that took place that night still made him feel sick to his stomach at the thought of just how much their lives changed that night. Still trying to get his breathing back to normal, Dean wiped a hand across his forehead and shook his sweat drenched pyjama top to try and cool himself down.<p>

"De..." Came a soft tone from the edge of the bed.

Turning, Dean spotted Sam stood beside the beside, blanket clutched tightly to his chest in one hand with a worried expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" Dean asked gently.

Sam silence told Dean everything.

"Did you have a nightmare too?"

Sam slowly nodded, tears prickling at his eyes.

"Come here." Dean lifted up the covers motioning for him brother to climb in.

Sam clambered up onto the bed and crawled across so that he was sat next to his older brother, resting his head against Dean's chest as they leaned back against the wall.

Dean tucked the covers around his little brother and wrapped an around him protectively before casting a hand through his light brown curls. "You wanna' talk about it?"

Sam shook his head.

"You sure? It might make it better." He encouraged.

"It was about Graham." Sam finally admitted in a weak tone.

Dean sighed. "He can't hurt us anymore. He's dead, Sam."

"But everytime I go to sleep I always see him and I remember what he did to us..." Sam's little voice trailed off as he got worked up.

"Sammy..." Dean's heart wrenched as he witnessed once again just how petrified his little brother still was of Graham. Pulling him even closer against him, Dean rested his head on top of Sam's. "We're safe here. John, Mary and Bobby wouldn't let anything happen to us." He paused. "I wouldn't let anything happen to you. He would have to come through me first and I'm tougher than I look." He joked.

"Yeah right, you're a big softie. Like a big teddy." Sam laughed cheekily.

Dean pretended to be offended as he gasped. "Like a big teddy?!" He exclaimed.

"Yeah." Sam nodded with a giggle.

The sound of his little brother giggling was the best sound in the world, and no one could tell Dean otherwise. Smiling, he shook his head. "Dude, I'm Batman not some teddy, and you're my sidekick."

"I'm Robin!" Sam grinned.

"Yeah, you're the boy wonder, and I'm Batman because I look out for you. Fighting all the bad buys, kicking the Joker's ass."

"I don't like the Joker." Sam stated. "He's scary. I don't like clowns, clowns are creepy."

"I know you don't, buddy." Dean smiled reassuringly. "That's why I'm Batman, the Joker would never get to you when I'm around."

Batman and Robin had been a game they used to play when they were in the group home. Back then they would use blanket of anything they could find to make capes and then run around the corridors pretending to be the Dynamic Duo. Those memories were some of the good ones from when they were younger.

Knowing that his little brother had calmed down now, Dean looked down at him. "You wanna' sleep in my bed tonight, boy wonder?"

Sam nodded and lay down on the bed.

Dean lay down too, maintaining the contact with his brother to comfort him. "It's gonna' be okay, Sammy. We'll get through this, it's just gonna' take time." He stroked a hand through his brother's curls once again.

"Promise?" Came Sam's childlike tone as he rested against his brother's chest.

"Promise." Dean nodded.

Sam smiled. "Goodnight, De..."

"Goodnight, Sam..."

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><p>Witnessing the whole thing through the crack in the door, Bobby smiled. The sight of the two boys really opening up to each other about just how broken they are made his heart break in sympathy for the young brothers. The care that the elder had for the younger was just so pure and true as he watched Sam clamber into his older brother's bed knowing that he was protected and safe as soon as he did. This showed Bobby just how much they had had to go through on their own where they had gotten to this stage of seeking comfort in each other because no one else was going to supply it. Both boys were asleep now, the oldest's arms still wrapped around the younger, and the younger fisting a handful of his older brother's pyjama top as he slept close to him. Knowing that they were safe, Bobby slowly closed the door and walked off down the corridor to bed.<p> 


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: **Because stupidly doesn't delete reviews on chapters you've deleted, some of you may find that you can't comment because you had already. If this is the case, please feel free to send me a message with your thoughts of the chapter and your ideas of what you would like to see happen in the story. If you can actually comment, then I would love to hear from you ;) **~Sarah xxx**

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><p>Walking down into the kitchen the next morning, Sam and Dean walked in to see Mary, John and Bobby all sat at the table.<p>

"Morning, boys." John smiled.

"Morning Mr Winchester." Sam smiled back.

"Sam, you can call me John."

Sam ignored this and looked up at Dean who motioned towards the seats at the table before going and sitting down on one of them.

Sam took the other, sitting next to his brother.

Dean glanced at the leaflets on the table before looking up at Mary and John. "School?"

Mary nodded. "Me and John had a call from Miss Kearns a couple of days ago, and she suggested that you boys might be ready to go to school now. Now I know that the whole idea will seem scary, but school is great. You'll get to learn about lots of really interesting stuff, make some friends." She smiled. "But of course the decision lies with you."

"We're not forcing you to do anything. If you boys feel that you're not ready to go to school yet and would like some more time to settle in first, me, Mary and Miss Kearns totally understand. We don't want you to feel like you have to do anything that you don't want to." John explained softly.

Sam had moved closer to his brother on his chair and was now leaning against his side. He seemed the most worried.

Dean on the other hand did not seem as fazed by the whole concept of school. Wrapping an arm around his little brother, Dean began to cast a hand through his little brother's brown curls reassuringly before looking down at Sam.

"I don't want to go..." John and Mary only just heard Sam state in an almost inaudible whisper to his older brother.

"Sammy..." Dean began but was cut off.

"No!..." Sam whimpered in a childlike tone as he buried himself even closer into Dean's side.

"Sammy..." Dean tried again. "We can't not go. If we don't go then we'll get Mary, John and Bobby into a lot of trouble."

"But you won't be there." Came Sam's weak response.

"I will." Dean reassured. "I'll be in the same school as you. The only time we won't be with each other is in lessons. We'll be with each other on the way there and back, in breaks and lunches."

Dean clearly knew the basic structure of what going to school entailed which was obviously more than could be said for Sam's grasp of the whole concept. This led Mary and John to the thought of had either of these boys ever been to school? With Dean being older, they presumed that he must have been to school at least once during his childhood, whereas Sam may not have because of him being younger. He grew up into the bad environment that the boys lived through in there earlier years while Dean had had at least four years of normality.

"Dean's right, Sam." Mary began softly. "No one will split you up. You can spend as much time as you want with Dean outside of lessons."

"Come on, Sammy." Dean smiled. "You're supposed to be Robin. Would Robin cry over going to school, or would he be big and brave?"

Sam pulled away slightly from Dean's side and giggled lightly with a smile. "Be big and brave."

"Exactly." Dean nodded.

"So should we call the school?" Mary asked.

Dean looked down at his little brother.

Sam nodded nervously.

Dean smiled before squeezing his shoulder in reassurance.

"That's great." Mary smiled before she walked off.

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><p>The day of them starting school had came around and Sam and Dean were both petrified by the concept of being the new, weird kids. Having been dropped off by Mary and John, the boys were given a quick tour by the receptionist before shown to their first class of the day. For Dean it was math and for Sam it was English.<p>

Sam had been handed a copy of the book that the class had been reading. His teacher had suggested that he read it at home so that he could get caught up with the rest of the class. But for this lesson, she told him that he should just start reading with them from the point in the book they were up to. Handing him the book, open at the page, she pointed him towards a unoccupied desk at the back of the classroom before starting the lesson.

Walking down the aisle towards his desk had been terrifying. Every eye in the class had found him and each followed his path through the desks, already judging him. He knew the thoughts that would be running through their heads.

'Who's he?' 'What's he doing here?' 'Eww...why's he got so many scars?!'

Sam had purposely dressed in a plaid shirt with the sleeves down and his hoodie to cover up as many of the scars as he could. The problem that Sam had though was that when Graham got drunk, he would often forget to hit them in places where people wouldn't see so him and Dean would often end up with scars on their faces and necks from various beatings which were very noticeable. Them and the burns on his hands from where Graham had burnt him with the water from the kettle that time when he had tried to steal food for Dean.

After he had sat down, their eyes had eventually returned to their books. Sam was pleased by this and so felt slightly less self-conscious. That was until about half way into the lesson.

"Sam..." The teacher had began, and Sam was already scared.

He looked up and over at her.

"Sam, can you read the next part." The teacher asked.

Sam's eyes widened as his heart rate increased in panic. He looked down at the book that was in front of him and the words that was printed on the pages. Nothing made sense. Looking around, everyone in the class had now turned in their seats to look at him, all carrying expressions that said _just read it_.

"Sam...read the next part." The teacher repeated.

"Umm..." He didn't know what to say. He couldn't read. No one had taught him.

The other kids were all laughing now.

Tears pricked at Sam's eyes as he looked down in embarrassment.

"That's enough! All of you!" The teacher bellowed.

The class went silent.

"Lisa, read on."

And she did.

As a tear trickled down his cheek, Sam wiped it away with the cuff of his hoodie, wishing Dean was there as he did so.

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><p>When lunch eventually came, Sam walked outside to try and find his brother.<p>

"Hey Winchester?!" He heard a voice shout.

Turning round, Sam was met by a group of students, some of which he recognised from the English class he was just in while others where clearly from older years. Noticing his red eyes from crying, they began to laugh.

"Awww...Can little Sammy not read?" They mocked. "How stupid are you?!"

"Shut up!" Sam replied quietly.

"Are you going to cry again?" The boys teased. "What's wrong, have you not got any friends to go to, Scarry?!"

At the mention of his scars, Sam found it hard not to start crying as they continued to use all the jokes they could think of.

"Did you get beaten up a lot in your old school too? Is that why you're here, cause' they thought you were a loser too?" Another boy mocked.

"I heard him and that other freak were adopted. Even your friggin' parents didn't want you scarry!"

Sam flipped and swung a punch at him.

The older boy grabbed his fist, deflecting the blow before he looked down at Sam. "Wrong move Winchester." He stated sternly before landing a punch across Sam's face.

Sam fell back onto the floor, barely having enough to regain his balance before the rest of the boys joined in. Kicking and punching, Sam curled in on himself as he wrapped his arms around his stomach to try and deflect some of the blows. "Gah!" He moaned as tears pricked at his eyes.

"What's wrong, Scarry? You gonna' cry?!" The oldest boy mocked. "Like a stupid, pathetic little..." He was cut off as Dean landed a punch across his face which knocked him to the floor before he followed him down and contiuned to pummel the kid until he was barely conscious.

"Who's the stupid, pathetic little bitch now, huh?!" Dean shouted angrily as he continued to punch him. "Not so tough now!"

One of the other older boys began to pull Dean away from the apparent leader of the group. This however was easier said than done.

Dean began to face off the rest of the group, delivering punches to each one of them until at that remained were a few kids lying on the ground, the rest having ran off.

"You come near my brother again, and I'll kill you!" He shouted, before looking down at his little brother who was still lying on the floor. "Sammy..."

Before he got a chance to check over his brother however, teachers were rushing over. Dean soon found himself being grabbed by two members of the teaching staff who began to drag him off down the corridor.

"No! I need to see my brother!" Dean shouted. "Please, just let me see him!"

"Not until you've calmed down."

"I'll calm down when I can see my brother!" Dean responded.

"I'm sorry, but no." The teacher stated.

"Then I'm sorry too." Dean broke an arm free from female teachers grasp before delivering a blow to her stomach with his elbow. He then tried to sprint off down the corridor but was quickly caught a male teacher. "No! I need to see my brother!"

"The only place you're going is isolation."

* * *

><p>Sat in the Principal's office, Sam hadn't said a word since the incident at lunch.<p>

The door opened and in walked Mary and John. Their eyes immediately sought out Sam as they rushed over to him.

Mary sat down next to Sam and gathered him up in her arms. "Sweetie." She then noticed the bruises as he gasped. "What happened?"

Sam began to cry once again as he buried himself against Mary's chest. "I'm sorry..."

"Oh Sam, you have nothing to be sorry for okay? It's not your fault." She reassured.

John sat down on the other side of Sam and placed a hand reassuringly on his arm before turning to the Principal. "What happened?"

"Sam was involved in a fight at lunch." The Principal explained. "I assure you that the boys who did this have been dealt with an suspended until further notice. Their parents have also been informed and we will be holding further conferences with them to discuss the plans for the children and whether or not we want them back at this school." He paused. "I am truly sorry for what has happened." The Principal apologised.

John nodded. "It's good to see that you have taken action against them."

"There is one other thing that I need to draw your attention to." The Principal began. "One of my colleagues reported that Sam was unable to read from the book the class was reading aloud." He explained. "Now this wasn't made clear on any of Sam's admission forms to the school."

"We didn't know." John answered, looking over at Sam.

"So knowing this, we feel it would be best for Sam if he was placed in Special Ed."

John's eyes widened. "He's not special needs!" His tone rose slightly in anger.

"Mr Winchester, the class is in place to help those who require more help." The Principal explained.

"I don't care! You're not just gonna' dump him in some class! He has been isolated enough from other children already, you're not doing it to him too!"

"In that case then, the only other option would be for Sam to receive extra help from a member of staff, but the school would not be able to pay for it."

"We'd pay for the help." John stated, dumbstruck by the fact that the Principal was suggesting that they wouldn't.

"Very well, I shall get my secretary to arrange the hiring of a tutor. In the meantime, you should work with Sam and establish just what areas he struggles in most. Overcoming them will be the first step in helping Sam."

John and Mary nodded.

"Thank you." They thanked before standing up to leave.

"Oh, one more thing before you go." The Principal began. "Your other son, Dean...he's currently in isolation in the old block, you need to go and collect him."

"Why's he in there?" John furrowed an eyebrow.

"He was also involved in the fight at lunch where he punched a number of other students. Now I have heard his statement about what happened and I do understand that we did was in defense of his little brother, but it is still against school rules to harm other students through violence." The Principal explained. "But it was not just Dean's actions during the fight that led to him being placed in isolation, it is how he behaved after. Dean was very uncooperative when it came to talking about the fight and then got violent with one of my colleagues when they told him that he couldn't see Sam. We felt it best that he was put in isolation to give him a chance to calm down. Sam was obviously shaken up after the fight and we didn't think it was good for him to be around his brother when he was so angry."

"Mr..." John began.

"White." The Principal answered.

"I know you have the interest of the students and colleagues to put first, but the worst thing you could have done is keep these boys separated." John explained.

"Dean needs to learn to control his anger." The Principal stated.

"He's very protective over his little brother." John stated.

"Mr Winchester, I know you are trying to defend your son to me, but I find it worrying that you are also defending his actions which include beating up numerous other children and punching a member of the teaching staff. Now like I said before, I know he did what he did in defense, but I can excuse the fact that he did hurt other students and attempted to harm one of my members of staff."

"If you had taken the time to read their files, you might find the answer to your questions." John stated before placing a hand on Mary's arm and leading her and Sam out of the room.

* * *

><p>Reaching the old block, Mary and John found the room labelled 'Isolation'.<p>

Dean was sat at the back of the scruffy classroom, with his arms spread out in front of him on the desk.

John knew that the door must lock from the inside as there was no way that Dean would still be sat there if it wasn't. Opening the door, John watched as Dean's eyes immediately looked up.

Noticing Sam, Dean was up from the desk in an instant and across the room. "Sammy!" Wrapping his arms around his little brother, he began to rub Sam's soft, brown hair comfortingly. "It's okay, it's okay...I'm here..." He looked down at his little brother, snarling in anger at the sight of the bruises and cuts that marred his little brother's face.

Sam fell into his brother's embrace so naturally, seeking out the protection that he knew his older brother could offer.

Mary and John smiled softly at the two boys.

John noticed the bruises and cuts on Dean's face and hands as well as the blood stains on his grey shirt. "Dean..."

Dean looked up at John while still holding his little brother. He knew what John was going to say.

"Dean, look at me."

Dean did.

"You can't just go around beating people up. Now we are going to let you off this time because the Principal has explained to us that you did it to protect Sam, but you need to tone it down." He explained softly. "Okay?"

Dean nodded.

John smiled. "Good, then let's get you boys home." He placed a hand on the boys' shoulders. "Who wants pizza?"

Their faces lit up. "Yay!"


	16. Chapter 16

Sat around the kitchen table, Sam's head was lowered.

"Sam..." Mary spoke up softly. "None of this is your fault, sweetie. We need you to understand that."

Sam didn't say anything.

"You're a little behind the other kids in your class because you had a lot of challenges when you were younger that they didn't have." John tried to word what he was saying as sensitively as he could.

"But they're not stupid..." Came an almost silent response.

"What was that sweetie?" Mary asked.

"The other kids in my class aren't stupid." Sam stated, finally looking up to meet John and Mary's gazes. "I heard my teacher talking to the Principal, you're supposed to be able to read at ten, which makes me stupid for not being able to."

Mary was silent for a moment before she took a deep breath. "Sam..." She began. "I don't want to ever hear you say that about yourself again...do you understand me?" Her tone was firm but in a caring way as she looked at her youngest. "You are _not_ stupid!" She emphasised, still maintaining her soft voice.

"I am!" Sam shouted, his voice becoming childlike as he did so. Tears began to fall down his cheeks once again. "You don't understand!" Sam visably deflated as he slumped down against the table, burying his head into his arms, hiding from John and Mary's gaze.

Mary and John looked at each as they wondered what it was Sam thought they didn't understand.

"Sam...something is clearly bothering you, and we want you to know that we're here for you...through all of this. You don't have to hide anything from us. We're here to listen to you." John explained, trying to coax Sam into talking.

Sam shook his head, not lifting it up from his arms as he did so. "You'd think I'm stupid too." They heard a mumble.

"We would never think that, sweetie." Mary stated gently.

Sam lifted his head up slightly, eyes red from crying. "I don't know how to write..." He stated almost inaudibly.

Mary couldn't bear seeing Sam so upset. "Awww, sweetie." She spoke softly. "We can help you with that. It's nothing to be ashamed of, and just because you can't read or write doesn't mean you're stupid." Mary stated before she leant closer to Sam, resting her arms on the table. "Now here's what we're gonna' do..." She smiled. "We're gonna' start reading some books together when you get home from school. You can choose which ones you want to read, and then we'll read them together."

"Mrs Winchester..." Sam began. "Do I have to have a tutor in school?"

"You don't have to, but it might help you." Mary explained. "Do you not want to have one?"

Sam didn't say anything for a few seconds, before he eventually shook his head slowly.

"Would you rather me, John and Dean just help you?" She asked.

Sam nodded, the beginnings of a smile appearing on his face.

"That's settled then." John smiled. "I'll ring the school in the morning."

There was a knock at the door.

Turning, Dean was stood in the doorway with an expression that showed the sheer amount of concern he had for his little brother. Mary and John had politely asked if they could talk to Sam alone in the kitchen, and although he had clearly was doubtful about leaving him, he did. Dean had stayed upstairs for the duration of their conversation, so it would be unfair on the kid to keep him from his little brother any longer.

"You can come in now, Dean, we've worked everything out." John smiled. "Haven't we, Sam?"

Sam nodded before he climbed down from his chair and walked over to his older brother, burying himself against his chest.

Dean smiled as he looked down at his little brother and gathered him up in his arms, wrapping them around him.

"We've told Sam that we'll all help him with his reading and writing." Mary explained with a smile.

Dean nodded as he cast a hand through Sam's brown curls. "Yeah, Sammy, I'll help you too. It's easy once you get the hang of it. You'll be reading and writing in no time...I mean, you're a lot smarter than me and I managed it." He smirked.

Sam giggled. "Thanks, De." He smiled.

"You're welcome, Sammy."


	17. Chapter 17

Walking down the hallway, Mary peered round the door to look into the boys' room. As she had guessed, Sam was in Dean's bed, curled up beside him, Dean's arm wrapped around him keeping him close. After what had happened today, Mary knew that Sam would have gone back into his shell. All of the work that they had done to try and get coax him out of it was thrown out of the window thanks to some stupid kids. And of course Dean had become even more protective of Sam since the incident at school too. Like when they first moved in, trying to separate them would be inadvisable.

Sighing, Mary closed the door to their room before walking downstairs. Making her way into the living room, she sat down on the couch. Picking up the TV remote, Mary clicked the 'On' button.

Nothing happened.

Just then, the lights went out plunging the house into darkness.

Mary was on her feet in seconds, opening one of the drawers and retrieving the knife from it.

"Put it away, Mary." Came a voice.

The lights then returned to reveal a man stood across the room from her.

"Who are you?...What are you?"..."

"Demon." It smiled. "But you already knew that, Mary." The demon then began walking towards her. "Don't you remember me? We met oooh...ten years ago."

Mary's eyes widened. "Crowley."

"The very same." He smiled. "A lot has changed since then though. I mean, you're practically famous. The Winchester's, two of the most well known hunters in America."

"We don't do that anymore." Mary stated. "And you're not welcome here."

"You know why I'm here, Mary. Are we going to stop pretending that this is all a big surprise?"

"You did this to us." Mary stated.

"No." Crowley began. "I was simply doing my job."

"Your kind killed my parents, killed John and tried to kill my kids!"

"So you're actually to them as yours now?" He asked.

Mary stiffened.

"Because we both know they're not." Crowley paused, seeing Mary's expression. "Don't you remember? Probably not, I mean...we did change a few things around here and there."

"What are you talking about?! Why are you here, Crowley?"

"Crossroads demon, part of the job description. I make deals and see them through."

"So what you're saying is my time is up?"

"Not exactly."

Mary furrowed an eyebrow.

"We don't want you dead, Mary. That was the whole point of this plan in the first place." He paused. "That night...the night you summoned a crossroads demon. When I told you that those boys were in grave danger, can you remember what you said to me?"

Mary shook her head.

"Try, Mary. Think."

Mary gasped as tears began to trickle down her cheeks. The memories of those days coming back to her. She looked up at Crowley. "Yes."

"What did you say to me?"

"I said 'Don't hurt them, don't hurt my boys'."

"It was through an act of motherly love that you had come to the crossroads to seek me out in the first place." Crowley stated. "That's what we wanted."

"What do you mean?"

"We needed someone who had the boys' trust." Crowley paused. "That night, something was coming for you...you had been tracking the demonic omens weeks before that night arrived, which is why you came to me...You wanted answers, and I gave them to you."

"Why couldn't I remember any of this?"

"Because you weren't supposed to. The boss ordered some magic amnesia for you and John."

"So why are you telling me all this?"

"Because I want to help." Crowley stated.

"And I'm supposed to just believe that?"

"Right now, Mary, I'm the best hope you've got."

Mary paused before nodding.

"Something was coming for you that night, and did come, but it was unsuccessful." Crowley explained. "You were supposed to die in that fire, but something woke you and John leading to your discovery of the flames." He raised a hand. "That would be moi."

"You caused the window to drop."

Crowley nodded.

"So...who was this demon that was after me?"

"A demon called Azazel. Snappy little bugger with big ambitions. Too much of a show off in my opinion, but nevertheless, the boss loves him. Anyway, that leads me onto my next point...he wasn't just after you."

Mary's eyes widened. "No..."

"Azazel visited your house the night of the fire intent on killing you and kidnapping Sam. I managed to avert the situation, but I was left with no choice when it came to the boys." He paused. "Dean and Sam did make it out of the fire that night."

Mary felt sick as she heard the truth about her boys.

"But I couldn't simply return them to you, I had to keep them hidden from Azazel."

"So you made sure they got lost in the system." Mary stated. "You placed them with those families purposely, didn't you?!" She growled angrily.

"If Sam and Dean had've lived normal lives with the white picket fence, church every Sunday and school every day, do you really think they would have just magically stayed out of Azazel's radar?! They had to be out of sight, so that's what I had to arrange."

"Why do all this, huh? Why save me in the first place, why try to protect Sam and Dean?"

"Because it wasn't written for you to die that night, and it wasn't written for Sam to be kidnapped. Your futures have been mapped out for centuries, I'm just following through on it." Crowley paused. "I'm just doing my job, okay? And coincidentally, they are my job. I got assigned them, so that's why I'm here to make sure they don't die horrifically before they've served their purpose."

"Which is?"

"Telling you that would ruin all the fun."

"So you're trying to tell me that your job was to protect Sam and Dean from another demon?"

Crowley nodded.

"So the night of the fire?...and the days after it?...all of the cops?"

"All my finest demons, scripted and ready to go."

"They told us they were dead."

"As per the script. You _had_ to think that the boys were dead so that you wouldn't go looking for them and ruin my arrangements." Crowley stated. "Then the little tikes even fell off our radar for a while, didn't show up again until they bumped into you two."

"And the memories?"

"A few alterations were needed. For example, you thought that Sam and Dean were dead through dying in the fire because that's what the cop had told you, but we needed you to keep thinking, keep hunting, and obviously keep out of Azazel's radar yourselves, so we changed your memory."

"So that we thought they were biologically ours..."

"Making them Sam and Dean Winchester to anyone who hadn't seen their CPS file...like Azazel." Crowley stated. "He was looking under the wrong name and therefore couldn't find them."

"What else did you change?"

"I erased our little chat from that night. Left in the juicy detail that you'd made a deal, just to keep you on your toes, and got rid of the rest." He paused. "We all changed little Deano's memories a bit. Made him believe that you were actually their biological Mommy and Daddy too. We needed him hopeful for the both of them."

"So the memories Dean does have of us?"

"Are all genuine." Crowley answered with a nod. "Why, you still hung up on that whole 'angels are watching over you' thing?" He smiled. "I changed your status as their parents, I didn't alter anything else. Dean does remember the time he spent with you...just like he remembers the fire. Maybe you should ask him about it."

"So my deal?"

"Wiped clean."

Mary's eyes widened. "What do you mean wiped clean?"

"We didn't require you to make a deal that night, Mary. We just wanted to make you think you'd made a deal. You're soul is intact."

Mary sighed in relief. "So what now? Is Azazel still out for Sam? Do we run?"

"That's why I came." Crowley stated. "It's all a bit déjà vu."

"What's happening?"

"The boy is in danger. That whole stunt at the school threw him onto Azazel's radar. He knows that Sam's still alive and he's not going to let anything get in his way this time."

"So what do we do?"

"You take the boys and you drive like hell."

"Where?"

"Anywhere." And with that, he was gone.


	18. Chapter 18

"Mrs Winchester?..." Came a small, tired sounding voice.

Mary gasped and turned in an instant to see Sam stood on the stairs.

Dean was stood next to him with a shocked expression on his face.

"Sam...Dean..."

John walked in from the kitchen.

"What deal?..."

"John...I..."

"What deal?!" He shouted.

"This is all my fault..." Mary stated as she walked across the living room and rested her elbows on top of the wooden hearth above the fire, burying her head in her hands.

"Mary..." John followed her. "What is going on?"

The boys, who had now descended the stairs, walked into the living room too.

Turning back to John, Mary tried to keep herself calm through the panic that was plaguing her. "I can explain everything later, right now, we need to get outta' here."

"Mary..." John gently took hold of her wrist to stop her from rushing off. "I heard what he said...and I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on." He paused. "It sounds like you've already been keeping me in the dark enough, and it's not fair on the boys to keep this from them."

"Keep what from us?" Dean spoke up.

Mary looked at them before taking a deep breath. That man...he told me something." Mary began in a soft tone before pausing. "Told me something about you, Sam."

Sam's eyes widened as he immediately turned to Dean.

Dean stepped in front of Sam, positioning himself between his little brother and Mary and John.

"Sam..." She stepped forward.

"Don't..."

"Dean, we're not gonna' hurt him." John stated.

"I don't know that...not now." Dean explained.

"Dean, you have to tell us what you already know." Mary spoke up softly.

"Why?"

"What?" She furrowed an eyebrow.

"Why do you need to know?"

"To protect you." Mary stated.

"I'm not buying it."

"Dean..."

"What do you actually want with us?!" Dean asked defensively.

"You're our kids, Dean."

"No, we're not. Harris, remember?"

"Do you really think that makes a difference to us?" John asked.

Dean shrugged. "I've been through enough to know that when something seems to good to be true, it probably is. Something good happens in your life that makes you think everything's actually gonna' be alright, and then once you've gotten used to it all, and life really seems good, something comes along and plucks everything out from underneath you. That's what this is..." He paused. "You're just another one of them!" He shouted, pure emotion showing in his expression. "You touch my brother and I'll kill you!"

"Dean..." Mary began, but John placed a hand on her shoulder.

"We're not gonna' make you do anything, Dean, but we're trying to do what's best for Sam, and you." He sighed, hating to have to let Sam in on the secret. Kneeling down so that he was at Sam's eye level, John hated himself for this. "There are things out there, Sam...terrible, awful things. And one of those things is after you. Now Mary, Bobby and I, we're going to protect you. We're not gonna' let that evil man get you, either of the evil men." He paused. "But you have to talk to us. We need to know what you and your brother already know so that we can help you."

Sam looked up at Dean.

Dean sighed.

"Graham was all hopped up on all that religion crap, so we thought he was just being his usual crazy self when he first started talking about it." He began. "He said that a demon came to him and told him about Sam. About what he was gonna' become. Graham believed him."

Sam was visibly shaking as Dean spoke about Graham.

Dean wrapped an arm around his little brother, pulling him against his side. "He never treated Sam the same after that."

"That mark on your wrist, it was no accident was it?" John asked softly. "He branded you..."

Sam nodded, burying himself closer into his brother's side.

"Did he hurt you a lot because of it?"

Sam nodded once again.

* * *

><p><em>Graham landed a kick to Dean's stomach before cuffing his wrist and clicking the other cuff to the radiator.<em>

_"Don't hurt him!" Dean shouted. "Please, please don't hurt him!"_

_"You really think that the freak deserves any mercy?" Graham scoffed. "All he deserves is to be put down like the monster he is."_

_"I'm not a monster." Sam stated as he sat shaking on the floor._

_"Don't lie!" Graham screamed before he crossed the room and landed a slap across Sam's cheek. "Devil spawn..." He spat viciously. "That's what you are!" Grabbing hold of Sam's arm, he dragged him over to the fireplace._

_Sam managed to land a kick to the back of Graham's leg throwing him off balance giving him enough time to make a run for it._

_"Guh! You little shit!" Graham growled._

_Sam ran towards Dean and began trying to break the cuff._

_"Sammy, behind you!" Dean shouted._

_Graham crossed the room in seconds, grabbing hold of Sam and throwing him down to the floor. Pinning him down with his foot, Graham towered over Sam. "I'll teach you to disobey me, boy!" Stomping down on his leg, Sam cried out in pain as the sound of the bone snapping underfoot could be heard._

_"Sammy!" Dean screamed._

_Sam felt nauseous as he pressed his cheek to the floor in an attempt to leach some of the coldness from it. _

_"What are you crying for, your other demon friends will come a fix you up soon enough anyway."_

_"I'm...I'm not..."_

_"Yes you are!" Graham shouted. "Do you think normal people can do what you do?"_

_"I didn't mean to." Sam whimpered, pushing himself up slightly, fighting through the pain and lightheadedness._

_"That wardrobe was padlocked closed and you're saying that somehow it just magically unlocked itself?"_

_"I didn't touch the lock, I didn't..."_

_"He didn't do anything!" Dean shouted._

_"Shut up!" Graham bellowed before turning back to Sam. "People need to be warned about you. They need to know what you are!" Walking over to the fire, he picked up the poker from the brass stand and proceeded to place it amongst the coals. _

__Sam's eyes widened at what he saw. "No...No, please..."__ He shook his head as he tried to squirm away.__

_"They told me all about you, the demons. They told me about how you're some tainted freak. How you're gonna' lead some demon army for them."_

_"No..." Sam whimpered. "I don't have powers."_

_"Don't lie to me!" He screamed. "You're a monster!" Graham picked up the poker from the fire before grabbing hold of Sam's wrist._

_"No...No!"_

_"Don't, don't please!" Dean shouted. "Sam! Sammy!"_

_Graham pressed the burning hot poker to Sam's wrist, branding him._

_"Ahhhh!" Sam screamed as the poker burnt away the flesh of his wrist._

_When it was over, Graham threw him to the floor once again._

_Sam pulled his wrist close to him and cradled it against his chest as he tried to fight through the pain._

_"So...__hat else can you do?! Huh?!"_

_"Nothing. I can't do anything." Sam answered weakly._

_"Hmmm...Maybe it just requires a little motivation." Getting up, he walked across the room to Dean who was still handcuffed to the radiator. "Hey, Dean." He grinned before producing a gun and turning to Sam. "So this is how it's gonna' work. You're gonna' use your powers, or I'm gonna' shoot your brother in the head."_

_Sam's eyes widened as he gasped. "No!" He screamed. "No, please!"_

_Dean, who looked equally terrified, turned to Graham. "Please, please don't do this!"_

_Graham cocked the gun before aiming it at Dean's forehead so that the barrel was pressed against the skin. "One."_

_"No!" Sam shouted as he began to drag himself towards his brother and Graham, ignoring the fire that was burning through his wrist and broken leg from the movement._

_"Two."_

_"Sammy!" Dean shouted, not wanting his little brother to see this._

_"Three."_

_"Noooooooooooooooooooooo!" Sam screamed._

_Dean tried to squirm away from Graham and found himself falling as he did so, the sound of the gun firing rang out before he landed on the floor. He gasped, frantically trying to get his breath back as he look up at the bullet hole in the plaster in which his head had been in front of seconds ago, and the broken cuff that meant that he was now free from the radiator. Turning to look at his little brother, Sam was lying on his stomach on the floor with a terrified expression, tears soaking his cheek and a trail of blood trickling from his nose. "Sammy!" He ignored his own pain and quickly rushed over to his little brother, wrapping an arm around him and pulling him close in a second, being careful not to knock his branded wrist or broken leg. Dean cradling Sam against his chest as he gently stroked his hair in reassurance._

_Graham still hadn't spoken a word. _

_Dean glanced at him to see that he was yet to move from where he was holding a gun against his head. Looking down at Sam, Dean couldn't help but worry about what Sam had been able to do. Lifting up his shirt, Dean used it to gently wipe away the blood from Sam's nose that he guessed had come from the strain of having to use his...well whatever that was._

_Sam huddled closer to him, seeking his protection._

_Dean wrapped his arms around him tighter. "It's okay, Sammy." He whispered so only his little brother could hear. "I'll get us out of here...I promise."_

* * *

><p>"That's it, we're getting out of here, tonight."<p>

"Mary..." John began but was cut off as Mary began to walk off.

"Should we pack?" Dean asked.

"I'm sorry." John apologised.

"We don't mind...honestly." Dean reassured.

"When you moved in with us, we promised you stability...we're doing a pretty crappy job of it." John scoffed.

"You're trying, and we appreciate that." Dean stated.

Sam nodded with a smile.

"And...thanks..."

"For what?" John asked.

"You just found out that we're not actually your kids..." Dean began. "...I'm so sorry..."

"Why?"

"...for giving you false hope...I told you in that motel way back when you first found us that you were our Mom and Dad...I told you that we were yours, and we're not..."

"Dean..." John cut him off.

Dean stopped and looked up at John.

"The demon didn't make up all of the stuff that you remember. Those are memories...real memories." John explained. "You were our kids..."

"Not really." Dean cut in.

"Yes, really..." John confirmed. "So what if you're not biologically ours, that doesn't mean anything. We still love you, and that's never gonna' change."

"Really?" Came Sam's small voice.

John smiled tearfully as he heard Sam's childish tone. "Really." He nodded.

And then something amazing happy.

Sam rushed from behind Dean and threw himself at John.

John smiled and collected the boy in his arms, wrapping his arms tight around him.

Dean smiled at the sight of his little brother, happy.

John looked at him. "There's always room for one more."

Dean was hesitant for a few seconds before he too joined the hug.

The two boys and John were all tearful in that moment, none of them bothered about what they looked like. When they eventually pulled away, John wiped a hand across his eyes to get rid of the tears, before looking at Sam and Dean. "You boys go and get packed up, we're having a family road trip."

"Where are we going?" Sam asked.

"Anywhere you like."


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Note:** I've time skipped by four years so Dean is now 18 and Sam is 14. Hope you guys like it! :) Thanks to my amazing beta reader **Carolinagirl117 **for your help and input with this chapter. Also don't forget to comment or drop me a message letting me know what you think of the chapter. Thanks, **Sarah xxx**.

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><p>The rain poured down from the dark grey, near black sky. The city's smog was hanging low, making visibility beyond a couple of hundred yards almost impossible.<p>

Rubbing a hand up and down his arm, Dean shivered in his black hoodie. Standing hidden behind a concrete pillar outside an old, neglected underpass, he kept watch of those who ventured out into the cloaking fog.

"Is everything ready?"

The sound of a nearby voice made Dean jump slightly. Cursing silently, he raked his eyes across the scene, looking for the source of the voice.

"Yes, Sir." Answered a second man. Dean's position behind the pillar made him invisible to the two men.

Dean located them walking down the path near where he stood. Thankful for the fact that they hadn't noticed him, Dean shuffled around the post slightly to avoid being spotted as he listened in on their conversation. As Dean watched the men, he felt his suspicions confirmed as he saw the coal black eyes of the demon. A shiver ran down his spine, not one of fear, but of the thrill of the hunt.

"Good. Make sure the operatives are in place. You know what happened to the last guy who wasn't." The man who was obviously the leader threatened the other man.

Ducking to a crouch, Dean followed the low wall, remaining hidden behind it as he made his way towards the entrance of the underpass. The two men had now joined the other five waiting under the underpass. The first of the men was bald, resulting in Dean immediately applying the nickname 'Baldy' to him. The apparent leader was tall and creepily thin, so much so that his bones could be seen clearly under his pale white skin. Of the other five men, one of them was Asian and wearing a dark brown parka, another was short in stature with two long scars running down his arms, the next was plump and blonde while the other two appeared to be twins. All of the men looked out of place in the gang style group they were stood in. Only the man with the scars and the plump guy looked capable on being in any form of gang, but even then they still stuck out like a sore thumb. They were all very goody goody in appearance which Dean couldn't help but smirk at.

"Those poor sons of bitches."

He narrowed his eyes at the unreliable lights which were blinking sporadically every few seconds.

"Game on." Dean said to himself, a wicked smile forming on his lips as he anticipated the coming fight. He ruffled his hair with his hands to remove some of the rainwater before throwing the hood of his jacket up. He then shoved his hand in his front pocket to conceal the weapon from the men. Walking down the path to the underpass, he kept his gaze to the ground to hide his identity. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the men take notice of the new figure emerging from the shadows.

"Deal with him." The apparent leader ordered quietly.

The operative nodded and waved to a few of the other workers. Together, they cockily headed towards Dean. Dean grinned as they came closer and tensed his shoulder in preparation. Baldy gripped his arm not expecting Dean to retaliate since he was outnumbered.

Dean felt the grasp on his arm and produce the gleaming knife from the pocket of his hoodie. Making quick work, he slashed at the man.

The demon screamed as it's eyes turned back, an orange glow coming from the wound on it's chest. "You little shit!"

Dean was shocked as an arm wrapped around his neck, constricting against his throat and yanking him off balance. He stumbled backwards into the man.

With the arm still around his neck, he leaned against his captor, kicking his feet out and bowling over the two approaching demons before hurling the knife into another's chest. His actions took seconds as the demons could barely process the sudden attack.

Despite being breathless, Dean jammed his elbow back against the solar plexus of the man, the blow causing him to drop Dean without warning to the floor. This caused Dean's head to thump against the concrete of the underpass.

Dean groaned. "Son of a bitch..." He murmured, putting a hand to a damp spot on the side of his head, finding blood on his fingers as he pulled it away. Unsteadily picking himself up from the ground, he pulled his knife from the stomach of the dead demon before finding himself surrounded.

"Give it up, kid...there's six of us and only one of you." The apparent leader stated.

"Get a few more and it might just be an even fight." Dean remarked before getting into a fighting stance. "Bring it, bitch!"

"Kill him!"

Dean, outnumbered by the demons, tried to hold his own against them, but it was a lost cause. As they began to land numerous punches on him, Dean found himself falling to the ground. He shuffled backwards as quickly as he could. The demons followed him, approaching slowly with menacing smiles. Each was armed with a blade, all of varying sizes, some nothing more than switchblades that had clearly just be stolen from some kind of DIY store while others were wielding knives.

"Dean, Dean, Dean...the boss will be so pleased to see you." The apparent leader stated with a grin. "Azazel's been looking for you for a long time boy, shame it's not little Sammy though...then I probably would have been given a promotion." He joked, tilting his head to the side. "What's wrong, did little Deano think he was gonna' be able to take us on?" The leader demon mocked.

As Dean reached the wall of the underpass, his hand hit something caused a clatter.

The demon furrowed an eyebrow as he looked at the item, inspecting it. Upon realization, he looked up to find a devil's trap spray painted onto the ceiling of the underpass. "Didn't Mommy ever tell you that graffiti's illegal?" The leader demon asked before growling in anger. "I will kill you..."

Dean smiled. "Now, Sammy!"

Sam who had been hidden at the other end of the underpass walked over. Dean smiled as he heard him chanting the exorcism and watched as the demon's began twitching.

"I will...I'm gonna' kill you, and Sammy, and Mommy and Daddy...maybe even that hunter friend of yours too..." The demon stated. "Because I will get out of Hell, and when I do, you and your pathetic little hunter family are first on my list..."

Dean waved goodbye to the demon with a smug smile as he, along with the others, began to scream and convulse. As smoke poured from their bodies, it swirled in the air before dissipating into the ground, leaving the bodies of the demons' hosts to collapse the ground too.

"Bring it, bitch?" Sam spoke up after a few seconds, turning to his older brother as he tried not to smirk. Even with edges of a smirk appearing, Dean could see the worry in Sam's eyes. Wondering if Dean was okay after taking on so many demons in their meatsuits.

"Shut up..." Dean answered, picking himself up from the ground as he shook his head. Sam laughed and Dean couldn't help but smile at the sound. Even after they had just fought off a large group of Demons, Sam was laughing. He was proud of his little brother, most people would run screaming into the night.

"Let's get out of here." Dean stated.

"That was a terrible plan." Sam stated, putting his own hood up against the rain that was still heavily falling.

"It was a great plan." Dean expressed.

"Because it was your plan?"

"You could have suggested your own."

"I did, but you had your heart set on getting your ass kicked by those demons to get them into the devil's trap, which by the way, was a terrible plan."

"Whatever, it worked." Dean wiped the blood from his lip once again. "Good work with the exorcism by the way."

"Thanks..." He answered with a sigh.

"What?" Dean furrowed an eyebrow.

"Nothing..."

"No, tell me." He pushed.

"How long do we have to keep doing this for?"

"What, hunting?"

Sam nodded reluctantly, knowing this was a touchy subject for his family. He was glad he could focus on the passing concrete so he wouldn't have to face his brother just yet.

"Sam, we're saving lives here, man."

"I know...it's just..." He paused. "This isn't normal, Dean, you have to realize that."

"Nothing about our lives has ever been normal."

"I know."

Dean didn't know what to say. "Come on." He hit Sam lightly on the arm. "Mary and John will be waiting for us."


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's Note:** Thanks to my beta **Carolinagirl117** for reading over this for me again :)

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><p>Opening the front door, Dean walked inside, closely followed by Sam. Mary stormed in from the other room. "Dean Winchester!"<p>

Sam walked off to their bedroom, keen to escape the argument that he knew was going to ensue. Dean sighed as he closed the door.

"What were you thinking?!" Her tone was loud and pissed. Mary took her trademark stance, the one she adopted every time she was angry. Arms crossed, she looked at Dean with an expression that, although showed she was extremely furious at him, was also clearly worried about her two sons.

"I was thinking that there were seven demons out there that needed to be dealt with!" Dean responded.

"And that was your job was it?!" Mary questioned.

"Someone had to." Dean said in an accusatory tone.

"Yeah, John and I...not you, and especially not Sam! He's fourteen, Dean! You shouldn't be taking him on hunts with you when we're not there. For god sake, Dean, anything could've happened to the two of you!"

"We were safe, Mary."

"Is that why you look like you've gone twelve rounds with a block of cement, blood dripping from your head, bruises everywhere. Ever since you turned eighteen, you've been more reckless than ever..." Mary paused. "Dean, you're scaring me. I mean when most kids go through a rebellious stage, they do drugs or shoplift from Gas N Sip's, they don't kill demons!"

"We didn't kill them!" Dean shouted.

"Then where's the knife?"

Dean took the knife from his pocket and placed it down on the bed. "We exercised them, that's all." He explained. "I took the knife just in case something went wrong. Killing them was a last resort. I'm not a murderer, Mary. I will not kill anymore people. I've done it once, and I won't do it again, so no, I didn't kill the demons."

Mary took a deep breath. "I believe you." She paused. "Go get cleaned up." Her soft, protective tone was back.

Dean walked off towards the bathroom.

"Dean." Mary called after him.

He turned to glance at her.

Mary picked up at container of Tylenol and threw it to him.

Dean caught it one handed effortlessly. "Thanks."

She smiled.

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><p>Walking back into the main room a few minutes later, the blood and dirt was gone from Dean's face and he'd changed.<p>

Mary stood up from the bed and walked over to Dean. Smiling softly at him, Mary wrapped her arms around him before pulling him close.

"Mary, honestly I'm fine." Dean reassured in a much calmer tone.

"I know...but you're my little boy. It's my job to worry about you. It's all part of being a Mom." She smiled, rubbing a hand through Dean's hair as she looked up at him. "I'm proud of you."

Dean smiled. "Thanks, Mary."

"Your brother still in his room?" She asked.

Dean nodded. "He asked how long we were gonna' be doing this for...He's never asked that before. I knew that hunting wasn't exactly something he enjoyed doing..."

"I'll talk to him." Mary stated softly.

Dean nodded, hoping that she might have more luck with Sam then he'd been having over the past few weeks.

Mary kissed her eldest on the cheek before walking off into the boys' bedroom.

Sam was sat on the bed reading the copy of 'The Hobbit' that they had bought him from one of the local bookshops in town. He looked up as Mary entered.

"Hey, Sweetie." She smiled, walking over to the bed and sitting down on the edge of it.

"Hey." Sam put down his book.

"You okay, you seem upset." Mary asked, softly.

"I'm fine." He answered reluctantly.

"Everything alright at school?"

"What, apart from the fact that they all think I'm a freak?" Sam mumbled under his breath.

Mary, who did manage to pick up on what Sam said, winced in sympathy for her little boy. "You're not a freak, Sam."

Sam scoffed in disbelief.

"You're not." Mary protested.

"Normal people don't have powers. I've always been a freak. I'm never gonna' be able to change that." There was a sadness to his voice.

"Hey..." She began, talking his hands in hers. "You are the smartest, most unfreakish person I've ever met." Mary smirked.

"Is that a compliment?" Sam smirked.

"The highest compliment a man could receive." She paused. "Sam, I know you don't like hunting, but Azazel is out there somewhere, and we're just trying to keep you boys safe."

"I know." Sam nodded. "Trust me, I know...it's just..." He paused.

"What?" Mary asked.

"Nevermind..."

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><p><em>"Hey, Sammy..." Came a voice that Sam knew all too well.<em>

_"No..." Sam shook his head frantically as he backed away from the man stood grinning infront of him. "No...no...no...please, no!" He shouted, panic and fear taking over him._

_"I'm back, boy! And I'm back for good!"_

_"No...you're dead. You died. Dean killed you." Sam tried to reassure himself._

_"Come on, Sammy, you don't honestly believe that, do you? Little old me being killed by one lousy blade. I've came back from the dead once...why couldn't I have done it again?"_

_"No..." Tears cascaded down Sam's cheeks._

_"Yes!" Graham laughed menacingly as he approached Sam._

_"No! Nooooooooooooooo!" Sam screamed._

"Sam! Sam!"

Sam bolted upright to find Dean knelt on the bed next to him with a panicked expression.

"Sammy?" Came his gentle tone, accompanied by a worried expression.

Sam threw himself at Dean, wrapping his arms around his big brother's neck, nearly knocking him over on the bed in the process.

"Hey..." Dean soothed gently as he collected his brother in his arms. He stroked and a hand up and down Sam's back. "It's okay, Sammy, it's just a nightmare...it's not real..."


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Note:** Yet another chapter for you guys :) As always, don't forget to leave a comment in the review section or message me with your thoughts on the chapter/story, and thank you to Carolinagirl117 for once again beta'ing the chapter ;) xxx

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><p>"Bad night?" Mary asked as she kept her attention on the pan of bacon she was frying, only briefly having glanced to see who had entered the kitchen.<p>

Dean, who was in mid yawn, rubbed at one eye with the cuff of his sweater as he made his way over to the table. "Yeah." Taking a seat, Dean slumped against the table, leaning an elbow on the table and leaning resting his head on his hand.

"His nightmares are getting worse." Dean answered knowing Mary understood he was talking about Sam.

She sighed before walking over to the table, pan in hand. Knocking two slices of bacon onto the plate in front of Dean, she then dished out the rest. "John!" She called.

John walked in a few seconds later.

"John, honey, could you go and see if Sam's up for breakfast?"

"Sure."

Dean, who was idly nibbling at a slice of bacon, looked over at Mary. "D'you think his nightmares will ever stop?" He asked softly.

"Maybe..." Mary answered. "Depends really."

"Is there anything I can do to help him?"

"Dean..." Mary sat down at the table after dumping the pan into the plastic wash basin in the sink. "You're helping him by just being there after he has his nightmares. You reassure him so that he knows that it's not real."

"I know, but...he's always so panicked, and I just feel useless when he has them because there's nothing I can do to stop them." Dean paused. "And he just seems so upset right now."

"Maybe it's just Sam's way of dealing with everything."

"He's different right now...something's bothering him."

"And if there is, we'll deal with that too." Mary declared calmly.

Dean nodded. "I'm just worried."

"I know you are." Mary nodded too. "Now hurry up and eat your bacon, it's going cold and you two have got school to get to."

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><p>Walking into the headmaster's office, John and Mary were motioned towards the seats beside his desk. Sitting down in them, Mary turned to the headmaster.<p>

"Is everything okay?" She asked, her mind immediately presuming that Dean had done something again. Their eldest had a tendency to get into fights at school. The headmaster had made his thoughts known on Dean's place at the school many times, but the circumstances as to why he had got into the fight in the first place always came back to bite the headmaster in the ass. Dean had made a name for himself amongst the students as someone to look out for. Not as a notorious bully, but for the complete opposite reason. Dean was the student in school who wouldn't just stand around when someone was being beaten up or picked on. Dean was a good kid, the head knew that, but the board was unhappy about the acceptance of these fights within the school. They had tried to call for disciplinary action against Dean but the parents to the kids Dean protected always came to his rescue. They gave statements in his defense which allowed him to keep his place in the school.

"To clear up first, Dean isn't in trouble." The headmaster assured.

John nodded, sighing in relief as he did so. "Good."

"This meeting is actually about Sam." He paused, unsure of how to deliver it to the parents sat opposite him, hating to be the one to have to deliver such news. "He was sent by his science teacher today to student support to speak to Miss Haines. She deals in child psychology."

Mary and John were both confused as to where this was going.

"After chatting with Sam today...she strongly believes that your son is currently suffering from depression."

Mary gasped silently as she felt John's hand envelope hers in reassurance.

"There are options, steps we can take to ensure Sam is taken care of. Centres and facilities that can help people like Sam." He picked up two sheets of paper and a leaflet from his desk and handed them over. "Here is a copy of Miss Haines' notes that she made during her assessment, and the leaflet for the facility she recommends."

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><p>Outside the main school building, Dean stood waiting for his little brother to come out the doors.<p>

There were only a few students left hanging around in the yard outside the school now, and Dean was starting to get worried. His worry was short lived however as he heard the doors open. A large group came flooding out, all with exasperated expressions. Dean guessed that their teacher must have kept them back after the bell.

Finally Sam emerged through the doors, backpack dragging behind him as he held it by one of the straps. He appeared to be cradling his other arm against his chest however which flared up Dean's big brother senses as he walked over to Sam.

"Sammy?"

Sam looked up at his brother, startled from not realizing he was there and immediately dropped his arm to the side before throwing his backpack on properly to save himself a lecture. As he did however, the movement clearly jolted Sam's other arm causing him to wince slightly in pain.

Noticing this immediately, despite Sam's attempts to try and hide his discomfort, Dean grabbed the strap of the backpack and carefully lifted it from his brother's shoulder.

Sam allowed him to take it, knowing Dean had caught on.

Dean slid the strap over his own shoulder and left the other hanging before he turned to his brother. He noticed that Sam was no longer wearing his jacket so the scars on his arms and hands were clear as day to anyone who looked. Sam would never have taken that jacket off in a million years. Not when he didn't have a long sleeved shirt on at least. "What happened to your arm?"

"Tripped."

"And your jacket's in your backpack, yeah?" He followed his previous question.

Sam hesitated before nodding.

"Sammy..." Dean began.

A couple of students they walked past smirked slightly.

Dean witnessed Sam curling even further back into his shell as the other kids laughed at him. At his height of 6'1', Dean towered over most of the kids in the school meaning that he wasn't often challenged. Turning to stare down the students who had dared laugh at his little brother, their expressions lowered the ground as if told off by a teacher as they noticed Dean's dangerous glare.

"Can we just go?" Sam asked.

Dean nodded. "Come on."

As they walked the streets on their way back to the house, Dean once again looked at his brother. "Seriously, where is your jacket? And don't give me that bullshit about it being in your backpack because we both know it's not. Not when you're in that t-shirt."

"It is in there." Sam answered.

"Sam..."

"It is!" He shouted.

Throwing a hand back, Dean swung the backpack around slightly before unzipping it.

"Dean..." Sam tried, but ultimately failed to stop his brother as he pulled out the jacket.

There were numerous patches of blood staining the light brown hooded jacket. Dean noted that the blood had come through the jacket from the inside, meaning that Sam had been injured but had attempted to conceal it which ultimately appeared to have not worked.

"What did they do?" Dean asked, trying to keep his tone as calm as possible as he stuffed the jacket back into his brother's backpack, zipping it up once again.

"It wasn't..."

"What did they do, Sam!" Dean's tone grew sterner.

"They insulted Mary!" Sam shouted, catching Dean off guard. "They insulted Mary...so I punched one of them, and then they beat me up. Yes, I know...I should have held my ground better...should have used my training because that's what it's there for...self defense..." He paused. "But I am sick of being the freak! So yes they held me down and they kicked me and I did nothing about it, because I couldn't have done anything about it...I'm not a good hunter. I'm not good at sparring. I'm not good at training, and apparently I'm not good at pretending to not be a freak!"

"Sam..."

"I mean you...you went up against seven demons yesterday and won, and I can't even take on some kids in the older years."

"You were outnumbered, Sam."

"So were you!" Sam exclaimed. "I can't even defend my own family..." He shook his head, tears threatening to spill from tired eyes. "You don't know what they were saying...what they always say...about Mary, about John...about you..." Sam looked down at the scars on his arms. "About these..." He motioned to them. "They had some wild theories..."

"Sam, just tell me who it is and I'll deal with them."

Sam looked up at his brother with disbelief before snorting and shaking his head. He then walked off.

Neither brother said anything else to each other during the rest of the walk back to the house.

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><p>Reaching the house, Sam swung the door open and walked inside. Making his way up the stairs, Dean cringed at the sound of their bedroom door slamming shut.<p>

Taking the backpack from his shoulder, Dean placed it on the floor before throwing his own bag down next to it.

The commotion alerted the attention of Mary and John who walked in from the kitchen.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"Sam got beat up at school." Dean answered, getting straight to the point. This had an immediate effect on Mary whose face softened in sympathy for her youngest. She sighed, before looking up to see her eldest staring.

"What?" She inquired.

Dean, having noticed her bloodshot eyes, showed immediate concern. "What's wrong?" He asked, gently.

"We got a call from your school today." John spoke up. "About Sam."

"And?"

"And...the headmaster arranged for the school's psychologist to talk to Sam. And she believes that your brother is depressed."

Dean's eyes widened. "No, he can't be...but Sammy he's..."

"He's hurting, Dean...and I think we've all been plucking for excuses for a while now."

"No..." Dean shook his head.

"Dean, there are options. People who can help him."

"No!" He answered sternly. "You are not just going to dump my brother at some hospital!"

"It wouldn't be a hospital, Dean, it would be a facility that specifically helps those suffering from depression." John took out the leaflet from his pocket and handed it to Dean.

"Meadowbank Rehabilitation Centre." Dean read. "Rehabilitation?" He questioned.

"Sam needs help, maybe more than we can give him."

"This is stupid..." He shook his head.

"Dean, honey..." Mary began softly. "We don't want this any more than you do, but we have to put Sam first."

"Sam is never gonna' go willingly..." Dean stated in a weak tone.

"We know..." John sighed.

"If we do this to him, he'll never trust us again."

"The benefits outweigh the negatives here Dean, and I think you realize that too."

"Isn't there like a waiting list of somethin'?" Dean asked, wanting to find a way out for his brother.

"We rang the centre when we got back from the school...they're able to accommodate Sam." Mary explained.

"So what are you suggesting?"

Mary hated herself for what she had to say next, but knew that there was no other option. Visibly shaking, she took a deep breath. "We go tonight, take him to the facility...but we can't tell him..." She paused as tears began to trickle down her cheeks. "...we can't tell him." Mary shook her head.

"Why can't we tell him?" John asked, expression laced with confusion.

Dean knew immediately the reasons why they couldn't. "We'd never get him there. He'd never go willingly. And if we just take him, trick him into thinking we're just going somewhere, he'd never speak to us again..." He said nothing for a few seconds before he eventually spoke up once again, his tone now having lost it's strength too. "And this facility, they will be able to help him...right?"

John nodded. "We've spent all afternoon researching it. It's the best in the state."

Dean took a deep breath. "Fine...if it helps Sammy, then we have to do it."

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><p>Walking to the room they shared, Dean rapped lightly on the door. "Sammy?" He called softly. Dean heard the sound of sniffling as he pushed the door open to reveal his little brother sat so that his legs were hanging down over the side of the bed, crying lightly.<p>

Joining him on the bed, Dean placed the first aid box down before turning to Sam.

Sam was still staring at a point on the carpet like it was the most important thing in the world, clearly not wanting to meet his brother's gaze. He had one hand supporting his arm which he was gently holding against his chest while the bruises on his face and arms had clearly developed now leaving dark purple and black, angry marks on the struck areas.

"Let's get you cleaned up." Dean began to slowly lift his brother's t shirt, being careful not to knock his injured arm.

Sam wriggled free from the t shirt wincing only slightly in pain as he did so. An expression of vunerability then plagued his face as he knew the rest of the bruises would now be visible.

Most people would exclaim or say something along the lines of 'oh my god!', but not Dean, because Dean could see the embarrassment that was rolling off his brother. He knew exactly how his little brother would be feeling right now, and so kept his mouth shut as he began to clean him up.

Nothing required stitching. Everything just looked worse because of the blood. Not that what those dickheads did to Sammy didn't leave him wincing at every touch and shaking as antiseptic was applied. The deepest cuts to need stitches were still worrying Dean though. He'd opted to wrap Sam's chest over the spots of the cuts, which were also highly bruised from where the force of them kicking him had not only broken the skin but caused it to darken to a deep shade of red, meaning that he had white bandage around his upper stomach. His arm was the worst though. Although unbroken, the kids had made a pretty good to at it. The darkest colour of bruise could be found here, and Dean was even wincing at how painful it looked.

"I'll get you some painkillers." Dean got up and walked to the bathroom. Grabbing a box from the cabinet, he returned to the room and sat back down on the bed before offering one pill at a time to his brother, alternating tablet and water.

"Thanks." Sam eventually spoke up.

"You're welcome." Dean smiled softly despite feeling sick to the pit of his stomach. He hated the fact that they were going to have to lie to him, but it was the only way. "Try and get some sleep, Sammy, Mary and John have found a hunt so we're leaving tonight."

Sam nodded before climbing in bed.

Dean walked to the door and flipped the light switch before taking one last look at his little brother and leaving the room.


	22. Chapter 22

**Author's Note: **Here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it. As always, don't forget to comment or message me with your thoughts. Thanks to **Carolinagirl117 **for beta reading this chapter for me.

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><p>The tension in the car was high. Sam clearly knew something was wrong, but was clueless as to what was actually about to happen.<p>

Dean felt guilty as hell as he sat in the back of the car with his little brother, feeling sicker and sicker as every mile passed. Every mile that they came closer to the facility. Trying to keep his expression as natural as possible was proving the most difficult. Dean wanted to do nothing more than throw the doors of the car open, grab his little brother's hand and run far, far away from here. But he wouldn't, because he couldn't be selfish. He couldn't deny Sam a chance to get help. To get through whatever was making him feel so crappy all the time. So he sat, and he pretended that everything in life wasn't about to fall apart. Pretended that he wasn't going to have to see the look of betrayal in his little brother's eyes as he finally put two and two together. Because that would be the death of Dean. Seeing his little brother look to him for help. To make everything better like he used to when they were kids, or when he had a nightmare. Because that's what Dean had always done.

John drove up to the curb, slowing the car down to a stop before applying the handbrake.

"Why are we stopping?" Sam asked.

Dean sighed.

Noticing this, his brow creased in confusion before Sam turned to look at the building they had pulled up outside. Reading the sign, his eyes widened before he began clawing at the metal handle of the locked car door.

"Sammy." Dean grabbed his brother's arms and pulled them from the door.

"No!...No!...Don't leave me here...please don't leave me here..."

"This is the best option for you, Sam. They're gonna' help you, they're specialists in this sort of thing." John explained.

"No..." Sam shook his head frantically, looking between Mary, John, and Dean. "You can't...please don't do this...please..."

"The way you've been recently. Feeling upset all the time, they can help you with that. Make you feel better." Mary added.

"We're not cutting you out, Sam, we just want you to get through this. The doctors here will be better at this stuff than we are."

Sam slumped in defeat as he collapsed into his brother's arms, long, painful sobs wracking him. Burying himself against Dean's side, he shook his head against his brother's t-shirt, his tears turning the grey fabric a darker shade. Every fear and nightmare he'd ever experienced was coming true, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Sam knew that this was a losing battle. Nothing he could say or do was going to change their minds. "I hate you..." His state of almost hyperventilating meant that he was struggling to speak. His words losing their strength instantly causing most to get lost in the air. Sam however knew that Dean had in fact heard him as he witnessed his brother's face turn almost green, as if he was going to be sick at any moment. Turning his head away, Sam slumped even further against his brother, desperately wishing for this all to be just another nightmare. As a solitary tear trickled down his cheek, he felt Dean's arm wrap around him protectively, offering warmth and comfort before he heard him whisper. "It's just for a little while."

* * *

><p>In the room Sam had been assigned, both brothers sat on the bed. They had entered in silence, Dean placing Sam's duffle down on the floor beside the bed before taking a seat on the edge of the mattress. Sam sat down next to him.<p>

A few more seconds of silence followed before Sam finally broke it. "Please don't leave me here." He repeated once again.

"Sammy..."

"Dean, I'll get better...I'll stop being depressed all the time, if that's what's wrong then I'll change, I'll be better."

"Sammy! Listen to me...listen!" Dean stated in a strong voice, halting his little brother's panicked begs. Shuffling closer along the bed to Sam, he placed two hands on his brother's cheeks, forcing him to look at him. "None of this is your fault. None of it...okay? " His soft voice explained. "They're gonna' help you here..."

Sam lowered his head.

"Sam, this isn't a permanent thing, it's just for a couple of weeks...we're not abandoning your we're just trying to help you. If that's what you're afraid of." He paused. "Is it?"

Sam nodded.

"Sammy, you're my little brother. We'd take you in any condition, because we're family."

"Then why are you leaving me here then?" Sam asked sadly.

Dean felt as if he was going to break down any second. It hurt him to have to be the brave one when his little brother was so scared and upset. "It's just for a couple of weeks. You'll be back home before you know it." He paused. "Now come 'ere." Dean collected his little brother in his arms, wrapping them tightly around him in a protective embrace.

Sam was crying into his shoulder, tears soaking the material of Dean's burgundy hoodie.

"Everything's gonna' be okay, Sammy...I promise..."

* * *

><p>"There will be a two week settling in period. No visits and no inwards phone calls."<p>

"Two weeks?!" Dean exclaimed. "No way..."

"Dean..." John began.

"No! I'm not leaving him here by himself for two weeks."

"Your brother will be fine, Dean. The settling in period always proves successful in making the patient feel comfortable in their new surroundings and helps them to settle in the routines of the facility."

"So no phone calls?" Dean asked.

"Inwards." The doctor answered. "If Sam decides to call you, then we don't prohibit that. In fact, we see that as patient progression."

Dean sighed. "How long we talking?"

"Until Sam finds himself out of his depression, or at least recognizes it to be something that is affecting him."

"But he always ready recognizes that he's depressed, how do you think we managed to get him here."

"He was still resilient to come inside and was highly distressed about the idea of being left here. That is not the sign of someone who knows they need help."

"He's scared of being alone." Dean explained.

"Then that is something we will try and combat."

"It won't work."

The doctor arched an eyebrow. "And why wouldn't it?"

"We've been through a lot, Sam and I...his fear of being alone, that's never getting fixed."

"Would you say you suffer from that too?"

"I was older when this stuff happened so it doesn't affect me as badly as it did him, but yeah...it's always at the back of my mind." Dean paused. "Can I see my brother one last time before we leave?"

"I'm sorry, but Sam has been admitted, that means that the two weeks settling in period has begun."

Dean went to say something but John placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Dean...you gotta' think of what's best for Sam."

Dean sighed before nodding. "Fine."

"We'll call you when the period is over."

They nodded before leaving the facility.


	23. Chapter 23

**Author's Note:** To quote Arthur Darvill, '**Best of luck cry babies.**' As always, thanks to my amazing beta **Carolinagirl117** and don't forget to comment or send me a message saying what you think about the story.

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><p>In the parking lot of the facility, Mary and John had the arduous task of trying to keep Dean, who was climbing the walls of the Impala, calm. The call had come through last night. '12:32' to be exact. An hour earlier, Sam had been found in an empty room of the ward, wrists cut neatly and precisely, lying unconscious on the floor. Visiting hours of the ward dictated that they had to wait until ten the following morning before they could visit. Luckily, the head doctor had given them permission to come at 7AM, which was why they had been camped out in the parking lot since 6AM. None of the Winchester's had been able to do anything after receiving the phone call.<p>

John had been the one to answer the phone and had then softly relayed the news to Mary. The worst part had been having to tell Dean that his little brother had tried to kill himself an hour prior. Obviously the eldest Winchester did not take the news well, which had resulted in the smashing of numerous items that had been on top of the chest of drawers in his emotional rage. But they didn't care. How could they? They nearly lost one of their boys, things so meaningless and replaceable meant nothing to the Winchester's compared to the idea of losing their youngest.

When the clock reached ten minutes to seven, the Winchester's walked into the hospital where they were given directions by the receptionist and rode the elevator to the stated floor.

In the elevator, John turned to Dean. "Dean..." He began.

"Don't talk to me." He stated in a stern tone.

"Dean..."

"No!" Dean turned to him. "You persuaded me that this was the best thing for my little brother and I was stupid enough to let you. That's on me!" He paused. "He begged me not to leave him here. Not to leave him, but I did, because you told me that he was gonna' get better...I don't care what you have to say, 'cause I'm the one that's gonna' have to try and rebuild his trust, not you. Me and Sam have always been close. Looked out for each other, and then I left him in here. Do you know what he's gonna' think?!"

John didn't have a chance to say anything in response as the elevator chimed to signal that they had reached the floor selected. Dean walked out.

Everything about the hospital screamed depression. There was nothing about the place that suggested that it was a provider of help and rehabilitation.

As they reached the main corridor, the doctor who they had met when admitting Sam was waiting for them upon their arrival.

"Mr. and Mrs. Winchester." He initiated. "I wish we were meeting again under better circumstances."

"How is he?" John asked getting straight to the point.

"Resting." The doctor answered. "He had a long night last night."

Mary found her husband's hand without moving her gaze away from the doctor. Tightly gripping it in fear and worry for her youngest son, John squeezed it gently in reassurance, trying comfort his shaking wife.

"Each patient here is assigned a Doctor, Sam's is Dr. Paige." He explained. "He was the one who made the discovery of what Sam had done and then proceeded to patch him up, and offer support to Sam. He has been with Sam since last night, helping him, calming him down and talking to him about what happened. He is in the day room currently. We didn't think it would be best for Sam to be around the other patients right now, so the room is off limits to all other residents of the ward, and all staff members have been informed of this."

"Can we see him?" Mary asked in a soft, weak tone.

"Like I said, Sam is still resting, so I wouldn't suggest waking him up just yet. I will however go and get Dr. Paige so he can talk to you. If you would just wait here."

They nodded and the doctor took off in a brisk pace. John turned to a distraught Dean. His expression was stoic, but John could see right through it. He gently placed a hand on Dean's shoulder.

Another doctor walked down the corridor and over to the Winchester's. He had obvious dark bags under his eyes from lack of sleep and looked spent. "Hello, my name is Dr. Paige. I was assigned Sam when he was admitted to the facility. If you could follow me, I think it's best if we talk in my office."

Following the doctor down the corridor, each Winchester felt sick with guilt and worry. Once inside the office, the doctor closed the door before motioning to the seats on the other side of his desk and sitting down.

"You obviously have a lot of questions."

"How could you let him do that?" Mary began. "You...we admitted Sam in here to help him. You were supposed to help him get better. He wasn't suicidal when he was still living with us, he was depressed. He had good days and bad days, and the good tended to outweigh the bad. The reason we admitted Sam in the first place was because you told us that you could provide somewhere for him to feel safe, so that he could open up about his past and how he feels. We got a call last night..." She paused, unshed tears threatening to fall as her voice broke up. "...that he'd tried to..." She just couldn't say it. "...my little boy did that to himself..."

"Mrs. Winchester..."

"No! My little boy probably thinks that we abandoned him, just like everyone else in his life. I don't want your apologies, Dr. Paige...I don't want anything from you...you're the reason he did this, you and all the other doctors who clearly messed with his head in here..."

"Mrs. Winchester." The doctor's tone was stern and sharp. "Your son was psychotically depressed to a suicidal ideation. You're right that the separation may not have been the best move under the circumstances of his past and the effect that those events have had on him, we realize that now, but your son was depressed before he came to this facility. We monitored him constantly and gave him the opportunity to talk about anything he felt he needed to talk about with medical professionals. He received the best care we could give, but sadly it doesn't seem to have had the desired effect in Sam's case." Dr. Paige, who clearly was upset by their failings, paused momentarily as he took a deep breath before continuing on. "Therefore we suggest that Sam is discharged from the facility and returns home with you. It is up to you whether you wish to continue any form of sessions with a medical professional, or whether you wish to instead just provide your own support to your son at home. I personally believe that Sam would respond better when talking to you, Mr. Winchester or even Dean, just don't push him about it. If Sam wants to talk, he'll talk. If he doesn't, he won't. If he does talk, just listen to him, don't try and force more from him about something he might say."

Mary looked to John, clearly seeking support from her husband. John was quick to offer it by wrapping an arm around her back.

"Can I see my brother now?" Dean spoke up.

"Sam is...fragile right now, so we are only allowing one visitor in the day room at a time."

"We'll wait outside." John said softly, turning to Dean and offering a small smile.

Dean, thankful for them allowing him to see his brother first, offered an equally small smile back.

Dr. Paige walked to the door and talked to someone outside before turning back to Dean. "If you'd like to follow me."

All Dean could think about as he walked down the corridor after the doctor was Sam. His brain had created all sorts of images, and he just couldn't shake them.

"Like I said, Sam is fragile right now. I will come and check on you later, but for now, the day room is free for you and your brother only." Dr. Paige stated as they reached the day room.

Dean nodded before he slowly opened the door and walked in.

It didn't take him long to locate Sam. He was lying on one of the couches, bundled against one of the arms. His brown hair was messy and out of place as his head rested upon a plain white pillow, while his body was covered by a thin blanket that was spread over him and fisted in one hand. From what he could see past the light blue blanket, Sam was wearing a long sleeved plaid shirt and a pair of jeans. Not the same outfit he had came dressed in, but one of the ones they had packed.

Taking a deep breath, Dean walked softly across the day room before approaching his brother.

Sam looked up at him with tired eyes as he walked over, clearly having been woken up by the guy Dr. Paige talked to outside his office.

Dean didn't know what to say, so started with a simple, soft. "Hey."

"Hey." Sam's reply came. Dean took note of the raw tone of his brother's voice. A tone that backed up what the doctor had said about Dr. Paige having to calm him down. Sam's voice sounded painfully raw, and carried a tiredness that also clearly showed under his eyes. It was obvious that Sam had lost weight, looking more like he did when they were still out on the streets as Dean could clearly see the outlines of bones through the skin of his neck, and was sure that he would see ribs if his blanket and shirt weren't obscuring the view. His skin itself was also a sickly pale. It had been just over a week since they had admitted Sam into the facility, but as Dean looked over his little brother, he couldn't help but notice how worn down he appeared. He didn't want to think about how Sam had come to look so exhausted during his time at the facility, and so instead forced his eyes away and looked around the room for something to sit on. Noticing a stool, Dean picked it up and placed it down in front of the couch. Sitting down on it, he shuffled forwards on it so that he was beside his little brother.

Sam changed position slightly, clearly not comfortable in the one he was in. As he moved, the sleeves of his plaid shirt pushed up slightly meaning Dean caught sight of the bandages on his brothers wrists. He felt sick upon noticing them, although he knew it was guilt eating away at him rather than nausea. As Sam noticed where his gaze was lying, he shuffled his arms across his body weakly so that the sleeves slid back down, covering his bandaged wrists once again.

There was silence for a few seconds before Dean spoke up.

"Sammy..." The weakness in his voice surprised even Dean. He quietly cleared his throat. "...I'm so sorry...I let them put you in here, and I shouldn't...I shouldn't have listened to them..."

"Dean they were right."

"What?"

"I feel like shit all the time...and I'm sick of always being scared. Always thinking that someone's gonna' hurt us, or take us away." He paused, tone breaking up slightly. "I can't..." He paused. "I'm tired, Dean...I'm so tired..." Sam paused. "And I hate it here..." He admitted in a saddened tone before sighing. Curling his legs up, he weakly attempted to move the blanket so that his legs were once again covered, but didn't have the strength.

Noticing this, Dean reached across and moved the blanket for him.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

"Sammy, we came here to bring you home. The doctors think it's best for you too." Dean explained softly.

"Why?" Sam asked.

"What?"

"Why do you want me back?"

Dean's heart wrenched as he spoke. "You're my little brother."

"I'm broken, Dean. I'm not good to be around...I'm not good for anybody."

"I don't care."

"You should."

"Well I don't..." Dean stated firmly. "No more facilities. No more therapists." He paused. "Please, Sammy..."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

Sam nodded before letting his eyes fall closed.

Dean noticed his brother shivering slightly. "You cold?" He walked over to the other couch and picked up a blanket before draiping that gently over the existing blanket.

"Thanks."

Dean watched as his Sam bundled up, making himself as small as possible as he crammed into the space of the small couch before he fell asleep.

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Dean then noticed Dr. Paige peering around it.

"Dean..." He called quietly to not wake Sam.

Dean turned, thankful that the man had the sense to lower his voice.

"Maybe time to swap?"

Dean looked at Sam before nodding. He then turned back and carded a hand through Sam's hair with a soft smile. "I'll be back once Mom and Dad have been in, okay? When we take you home." He explained before walking out of the day room to see Mary and John sat nervously in the corridor.

John stood up instantly. "How is he?"

Dean didn't answer, his expression said it all. Dean had left that room looking twenty years older than when he'd entered. Their son looked both terrified and furious at the same time. One hand clenched in a tight fist, John noticed this immediately and gently placed a hand on Dean's shoulder. "Come with me a minute."

Dean looked at him with a confused expression but followed regardless.

They walked until the corridor lacked as personal or patients. John then turned to his eldest. "Hit me."

"What?" Dean asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You heard me...hit me."

"No." He shook his head, turning away from John.

"Dean...do it. You're angry and scared, and you're keeping everything bottled up. Let some of it out. Come, it's better that it's me than anyone else. I mean, you look like you'd happily land one on any of the doctors in here...I would too, but that's not the point. Let it out."

Dean shook in misery and rage, taking short, angry breaths before he turned and punched John.

John smiled. "Nice." He put a hand to the skin just below his eye. "Nice one."

Dean shook his head with a smirk. "You're fucking insane, you know that?"

"It's been said." John smirked too, wrapping an arm around Dean's shoulder and pulling him close momentarily. "Better?"

Dean nodded, his fist no longer clenched.

"Good, then it worked." John paused. "Now I need to go and see your brother, you go and help Mary, see if she needs any help with anything."

"Okay."

John patted a hand reassuringly on Dean's shoulder before walking off down the corridor to the day room.

* * *

><p>The sight of his youngest looking so pale and broken brought tears to the eyes of the hunter. He couldn't get his head around everything that had happened. It had all happened so quickly that John was still trying to catch up. One minute the facility had been the best option for Sam, and the next is was nearly the reason for his youngest's...<p>

He didn't want to think about that...not anymore. All that mattered was lying on the couch in front of him, long, unkempt brown hair flopping down over tired eyes as he slept. Sam's head was resting half on the pillow and half on one of his arms, causing him to wince every time he moved around slightly in his sleep, his slit wrists obviously painful to the touch. His soft breathing indicated to John that he wasn't fully asleep yet.

Sitting down on the stool, he gently placed a hand on Sam's shoulder. "It's okay, Sam...everything's gonna' be okay. We'll make it work. I don't care how long it takes, we're gonna' help you through this. Just us, no one else." He paused. "I'm so sorry." John sniffled slightly as he wiped away tears with the back of his hand. Looking at his little boy one last time, he got up from the seat he was sitting in and walked out into the corridor.

Mary was in the process of signing various forms while a duffel lay on the floor beside her feet. Dean was seated on one of the green plastic seats, head in his hands, clearly trying to hold himself together.

"Mr. Winchester, I need you to fill in these forms. Mary, you can go and get Sam ready to be discharged if you wish. I'll have one of the nurses come and help you out in a couple of minutes." Dr. Paige stated before handing him a copy of the release form.

"Thank you." Mary smiled slightly, mentally debating with herself as to if they really deserved that thank you or the smile. Still feeling that the blame rested on the shoulders of the doctors who had been with her boy during his time in here, she picked up the bag before walking into the day room. The sight of Sam made her tear up. He just looked so small as he curled up on the couch. _Come on, Mary...you have to be strong for him._ She told herself as she walked over to him, slowly placing the duffel down so that it didn't slam. "Sam...Sam, honey..." She called softly, lulling him from his sleep.

Sam flickered his eyes open to see Mary standing beside the couch. He smiled gently at her.

"Hey, sweetie." She smiled back. "What'd you say we get out of here?"

Sam nodded simply in response before attempting to push himself upright.

Mary walked closer to Sam and tenderly wrapped an arm around his back and under his arms to help him into a sitting position.

"Thanks." Came a reply, although it was more of a frail murmur then anything.

"You're welcome." She placed the duffel down onto the stool. "I've got something for you."

Sam didn't look overly interested, but as Mary removed the object, a genuine smile grew on his face at the sight of it. Gingerly reaching out for it, Mary noticed how bad her little boy was shaking. She didn't know whether it was from being cold, probably from his current weight, or whether it was just from how weak he currently was from what happened last night. Mary put it down to a mixture of both as she handed him the blanket.

Taking the old, red blanket, Sam looked close to tears. He hadn't seen the thing in years, having presumed it to be lost during one of their endless travels across the country.

"Found it in the trunk." Mary explained, correctly reading her son's thoughts from his awe filled expression.

"Thank you." His response was much stronger this time, clearly thankful that she had remembered the blanket's significance to him. The blanket still looked as battered and threadbare as the day they'd left the streets after meeting Mary and John. The only differences between the blanket from those days and the blanket as he was holding it now, was the smell. The almost rancid stench that seemed to be as much a part of the thing as the fabric itself was gone, in its place was the soft perfume of flowery washing powder, reminding him of home as he breathed it in.

Mary laid out his clothes on the couch beside him along with a pair of his sneakers that she had placed onto the floor. "You ready to get up?" She asked.

He nodded. "Help me?" Sam asked, hating to be so reliant, but he knew that there was no way he was getting up from this couch by himself.

"Of course, sweetie." As Mary wrapped an arm around his back once again, Sam found the strength he needed to get to his feet. Once there, he placed a hand on her shoulder before he was handed a t shirt. He managed to put it on without much trouble, Mary only having to help get it over his wrists without disturbing them. The jeans weren't problematic either, it was just the shoes. Mary had helped him back down onto the couch so that she could help put them on. In the end, she ended up tying them too because there was no way that Sam wrists would allow him to do something as simple as tying his own shoes. It was too painful to bend his wrist even slightly, so Mary simply gave him a reassuring smile before sorting everything else out.

The embarrassment didn't stop there for Sam either. Facility policy meant that he wasn't allowed to walk out of the building, he had to be discharged in a wheelchair. Some bullshit regarding how long after an 'incident' such as Sam's the patient was allowed to be on his feet. Due to the time not elapsing, that was his only way out of the facility.

The nurse had wheeled the chair into his room with a cautious smile. It was clear that she must have had some interesting responses to this in the past as she seemed almost scared of how Mary and Sam were going to respond. When she was simply met with a smile by Mary, the nurse's expression turned to a smile too before she left the room.

Mary then turned back to Sam. "Don't worry, it's only till we get to the car. I parked it by the doors before I came in so it's all ready."

Sam sighed, looking at the ugly metal thing.

"I know." Mary responded, as annoyed about the facility's policy as her son. "But it means you get out of here now rather than in a few hours, and I think that's worth having to sit in this thing for a few minutes."

Sam nodded before Mary helped him into it. She then stuffed the clothes he had been wearing back into the duffel before picking it up and shoving it onto her shoulder before pushing the wheelchair out of the day room and into the corridor where John and Dean were waiting.

"I see you got yourself some new wheels." John teased before ruffling Sam's hair slightly.

Sam smirked in response, shaking his head.

Taking the handles, John took over from Mary and began pushing Sam down the corridor.

Noticing the bruise that was just starting to appear under John's eye, Mary furrowed an eyebrow. "What the hell happened?" She asked.

Dean looked up from the part of the floor he had been staring at, looking guiltily at John.

"Oh, I walked into a door." He lied. "Pretty stupid really."

Mary raised an eyebrow. "The revolving door?...Or the automatic doors?" She asked sarcastically.

John paused for a few seconds. "The revolving door..."

Mary scoffed. "You're an idiot."

Reaching the doors of the facility, a nurse was waiting to take the wheelchair from them. It was a delicate procedure getting Sam from the exit to the Impala, but they managed. With Sam laid across the back seat, head resting in his older brother's lap, Dean gently stroked a hand through his little brother's hair.

As the engine roared into life, the Winchesters drove off, leaving the facility behind them. **Forever.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the delay in updating. Here's the next chapter. Thanks to **Carolinagirl117** once again for beta'ing the chapter.

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><p>Sam had slept through the rest of the day after they had returned from the facility. His bed feeling a billion times more comfortable than the one he had been assigned there. Wrapped in his red blanket, Sam had fallen asleep the minute his head hit the pillow. The next day hadn't been any better for Sam. It consisted of mainly Mary and John explaining to him that he could talk to them and Dean basically ignoring him.<p>

The aroma of Mary's cooking drifting into his room was what awoke him the morning after, also awakening his stomach in the process. It began to grumble ferociously, clearly deciding that it did actually want food. Sam had found himself unable to eat most days back at the facility due to his stomach simply throwing up anything he had forced down. He'd put this down to the shitty food he had been served there, and apparently had been right judging by his stomachs reaction to home cooked food.

Wincing slightly as he pushed himself upright, Sam found himself feeling stronger than he did yesterday. Actually managing to get to his feet unaided, Sam gingerly took his steps slow, gauging just how much strength he had before agreeing on a good pace. Grabbing his blue zip up hoodie, which had once been Dean's, he threw it on, thankful of the fact that the thing was still too big on him meaning that the sleeves hung down over his wrists, hiding the bandages. He then opened the door walking down the hallway. Making his way downstairs, Sam held onto the banister, pain flaring up slightly in his wrists as he did so, but Sam ignored it.

Mary walked into the corridor from the kitchen, spatula in hand to see who was coming down the stairs. Upon seeing that it was Sam, a beaming smile appeared on her face before she calmed it down. "Sam."

"Hey, Mary." He responded with a smile.

"You're just in time." Mary motioned towards the kitchen. "I was just gonna' have John come up to see if you fancied some lunch."

"Yes please." Sam answered.

"Good, there's plenty." Mary smile once again. "You good?" Clearly referring to whether he was alright walking.

"Yeah." He nodded in response. "I'm good."

Mary turned and walked back into the kitchen, over to her pans.

Sam took a seat at the table.

Dean walked into the kitchen and almost did a double take as he saw his brother. He glanced at Mary who smiled at him in response before turning back to Sam and sitting down too. "Hey."

"Hey, Dean." Sam answered, hands in his lap. The position was a bit painful, but Sam found it to be a better idea than resting them on the table which he knew would probably upset Mary, John and Dean if the bandages did stick out slightly from his sleeves.

"Here you go." Mary dished some scrambled egg onto his plate before walking around to Dean and doing the same.

"Thanks." Both brothers acknowledged.

There was a stack of toast on a blue polka dot plate in the middle of the table, but it was slightly out of Sam's reach and he didn't want to ask Dean. Instead he hesitantly picked up his fork, not moving the sleeve down from his wrist so he ended up just holding it through the hoodie fabric. He pushed the contents of his plate around a bit with his fork before picking up a piece of scrambled egg and eating it. Sam ignored the grease that accompanied the egg and instead simply relished in the taste. His brother would always tease him about his eating habits. To Dean choosing a salad over something such as a steak or burger was sacrilege, but Sam liked it. Greasy food always left him feeling a bit queasy and so he tended to avoid it. Today however, he would eat anything. Anything that wasn't hospital food would taste like heaven.

Sam noticed the Dean's uncomfortable demeanour. He looked ready to run a mile when given half a chance, and Sam winced at that.

Mary must have noticed this too as she shot Dean a glare before motioning to the food on his plate.

It was then that Dean dropped his fork onto his plate causing it to clatter before he stormed up from the table and out of the room.

"Dean!" Mary shouted after him, getting up too. "Dean!" Sam heard her continue as she walked off down the corridor.

Sam suddenly didn't feel hungry anymore. Placing his fork down, he pushed the plate away before getting up. It was then that he noticed something on the counter. Picking up the stack of letters, he noticed the facility's stamp on the corner of one of them in red ink. Grabbing the letter from the pile, he placed the rest of them back down before making his way out of the kitchen door. Running through the endless fields of golden hay, Sam stopped as he came to a tall tree at the far edge of the field and sat down amongst the roots. Ripping open the envelope, he skimmed through the letter before his eyes widened.

'_£2,000_'

"Shit!" He cursed tearfully. "Shit! Shit! Shit!" Sam kicked at the dirt underfoot before pulling his knees up to his chest, and burying his head down amongst them as he began to cry. He couldn't feel more stupid as he sat and sobbed, but he didn't care.

_"So, Sam..." The doctor began. "Why are you here?"_

_"I don't know."_

_"Come on, Sam, talking about it will help. I just need you be truthful with me and I can try and help you."_

_"Try?"_

_The doctor nodded. He was an older man with grey hair and tortoise shell, round rimmed glasses on a black cord round his neck. He occasionally kept putting them on to make notes before allowing them to hang free. "I believe that everyone can be helped, they just need a little push in the right direction."_

_"So you've managed to help everyone you've been assigned then?" Sam asked._

_The doctor paused for a few seconds, twiddling his thumbs before he looked back up at Sam. "No...no I haven't. I wish I could have, but some people...they won't accept help until it's too late."_

_Sam regretted asking the question as he witnessed how much it had seemed to have upset the doctor. _

_"So..." The doctor regained his trail of thought. "I want to talk to you about your past." He put his glasses on before picking up a folder and flicking through it. "Sam Harris..."_

_"Winchester..." Sam corrected him._

_"That's not what it says here." The doctor explained._

_He shrugged. "It's Winchester."_

_"Okay." The doctor nodded. "So Mary and John, they adopted you?"_

_"Sorta'."_

_The doctor was silent for a few seconds as he read through the files. "Mary and John Winchester have never officially adopted you, therefore you are still legally Sam Harris. Tell me Sam, why have you taken their surname?"_

_"I like them more than the Harris'."_

_The doctor was clearly annoyed by Sam's short, smart ass answers but kept going regardless. "Says here that you were also subject to child abuse and homelessness when you were younger too. That must have been hard on you at such a young age. Is there anything you would like to say about that?"_

_"No." Sam answered simply._

_"Also says here that your older brother Dean took the brunt of it, but you weren't unscathed either. Tell me Sam, and I want you to know that anything we discuss will never go any further than this room, did Dean ever hit you?"_

_Anger reaching boiling point, Sam couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Don't you dare!" He growled. "He is nothing like them!"_

_"So why haven't have you been adopted?" The doctor followed up. "You have been living with the Winchesters for over 4 years and you brother Dean is over the legal age. Both of them could adopt you if they wanted."_

_"They don't need to." Sam answered, still furious at the asshole for suggesting that Dean abused him._

_"And your arm and stomach. You came in here covered in bruises, wrapped in bandages and favouring your left arm." He accused._

_"It happened at school."_

_"Sam, I know that you may think that you have to protect them because they're your family, but if they're hurting you, you have to tell someone."_

_"I want to leave now." Sam stated._

_The doctor sighed. "Fine, we'll pick up with this tomorrow."_

_Sam got up from the couch he had been sat upon and walked out of the Doctor's office, slamming the door behind him._

"Sam..." Sam looked up immediately to see John stood in front of him. He sniffled and quickly wiped away tears with the material of his hoodie sleeve as he stuffed the letter into his back pocket. "I'm sorry for running out." Sam apologized.

"It's okay, we're not angry."

"You're not?" Sam asked softly.

John shook his head before sitting down next to his youngest. "Dean's not angry with you either."

"He is...he hates me."

"I think we both know that's not true." John attempted to reassure.

"He doesn't talk to me anymore."

"I think he's just struggling to deal with everything at the minute...just like you are. And you're both as stubborn as each other so that really doesn't help." John smirked.

Sam smirked too. "D'you think he just needs some time?"

John nodded. It was times like this that always made Sam seem so much older and wiser than his years. The pure selflessness the boy possessed made him so special, and yet so vulnerable because of it. It clearly hurt Sam when those he loved were sad, and seemed to presume it to be automatically because of him. Looking at his little boy's expression, he saw nothing but guilt and dejection. "If you ever want to talk, we'll be here...you know that right?" He explained softly.

Sam nodded. "I know."

John smiled but it disappeared quickly as he witnessed Sam once again shut down any attempt to talk about how he was feeling or what had happened back in the facility. John didn't want to hear about his time in there anymore than Sam wanted to talk about it, but he had to be strong and be the adult in the situation. If his boy found himself wanting to get something off his chest, he would be there, regardless of how much it would hurt. "You left your breakfast back there, you still hungry?"

Sam was going to say no, but his stomach betrayed him, grumbling lightly.

"I'll take that as a yes." John stood up from the roots of the tree. "You coming back?"

Sam didn't say anything, only nodded in response before getting to his feet too. A few seconds later though, he felt as if he had to say something. "I'm sorry about wasting food."

"You don't have to apologize for that, Sam." John reassured, ruffling his hair.

Sam smirked as John messed his hair up before gently swatting his hand away.

"Let's get back."

* * *

><p>That night, Sam couldn't sleep. Lying in bed, he just couldn't get settled. One minute he was too warm, the next he was too cold. Opting to simply use the blanket, he kicked the duvet onto the floor before throwing the red blanket over himself. It was then that he heard a soft sound. Furrowing an eyebrow at the sound, he clambered out of bed, leaving the blanket behind on the mattress and quietly crossed the room, opening the door before pulling it almost closed behind him. Walking down the hallway towards the sound, Sam stepped softly to not allow for the old wooden floorboards to creek loudly underfoot and wake up the house. Reaching the source which was Mary and John's bedroom, Sam peered round the slight opening of the door to see Mary in John's arms as they lay on the bed. Mary was crying and John was gently comforting her.<p>

"It's okay..." He reassured softly. "He's back now, and everything's going to be okay." John took a deep breath. "Try and get some sleep."

Mary nodded weakly before burying herself into John's chest.

John wrapped a protective arm around her before pressing a kiss to her forehead.

Sam walked off back down the hallway to the spare bedroom. Walking inside, he closed the door behind him before picking up the phone and sitting down on the floor. The curled, white wire luckily stretched all the way down. Dialing a number, Sam waited for an answer.

"Hello?" Answered a gruff, tired voice.

Sam took a deep breath before speaking. "Hey, Bobby."

"Sam?" Bobby asked with a confused tone. "It's bin' awhile since I last heard from you."

"Sorry about that. There's been a lot happening." Sam apologized.

"No need for apologies, Sam, we're past that."

"Thanks."

"There are reason why you're calling at 1AM, boy?"

"Yeah...I need your help." Bobby noted the change in Sam's tone. "I wouldn't ask if I wasn't desperate cause' you don't ask people for money, but I don't have any other options right now."

"Sam...what's going on? You alright boy?" Bobby asked in a concerned tone.

"I'm fine, Bobby." Sam reassured. "It's just...I was in the hospital for a bit and they need the money to cover the medical bills and we don't have it. I know we don't, so I hid the bill." He paused. "They can't pay it, Bobby. John and Mary would never admit it but they're struggling with money. I can't burden them with that on top of everything, not when it was my fault I was in there in the first place."

"Sam..."

"No you're right, forget it. I can't ask that of you. I'm sorry..."

"Sam, don't you dare hang up that phone on me!" Bobby warned.

Sam did as he was told and stayed on the line.

"How much?"

Silence.

"Sam..."

"Two grand." Sam answered. "But I can work. Earn it from you. I won't just take it off anyone. Give me jobs to do and I'll do every last one. I'll pull my weight and help out around the salvage yard."

"Sam, you don't have to. You're family, boy."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'll bring the money round tomorrow."

"If you could not tell Mary and John, I would really appreciate it." Sam admitted with a soft voice.

"Sam, they're gonna' find out sometime."

"I know, but by that time it will be paid and there will be nothing to worry about."

"Okay, kid, I'll back your play, but the Winchester's aren't gonna' be happy when they find out."

"Let's just hope they don't find out." He paused. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Bye, kid."

"Bye, Bobby." Sam hung up before walking off back to bed.


	25. Chapter 25

**Author's Note:** I hope everyone had a great Halloween. Here's the next chapter. Thanks to my loyal beta reader **Carolinagirl117** and to everyone who's reviewing. I really love to see your comments so please keep them coming in.

* * *

><p>Sam leaned his head against the wooden beams of the bannister rungs that ran across from the top step to the wall of the spare room a few feet down the hallway. Eyes closed, he listened as Mary, John and Dean all talked in the living room.<p>

"Dean, you can't just keep ignoring him." He was the topic of their conversation.

"I don't know what to say to him." Dean responded. "What could I possibly say to him?"

_Anything, Dean...I'd literally listen to you read the friggin' dictionary right now._

"Just try talking to him, he might open up to you more than he would to John and I."

Dean went to reply but was cut off by the sound of knocking.

Sam was shaking with nerves knowing exactly who was at the door. He had no idea how Bobby was going to respond when he inevitably found out what he'd done to himself. If he even wanted anything to do with him after he found out.

Answering it, Mary was surprised to see Bobby stood on the step.

"Hey, Bobby." She smiled. "We didn't know you were coming."

"Yeah well Sam rang me, and then I thought I'd come and pay you a visit." Bobby explained.

"Sam rang you?" It was almost an exclamation.

As she turned to glance at John and Dean, Bobby furrowed an eyebrow. "Am I missing something here?"

"Bobby, what did Sam tell you when he was on the phone?"

"That he was in the hospital for a while. I found out that he'd tried to ring a couple of times when he was in hospital, but I must've missed his calls."

Dean stood up from the couch and walked off. The sound of the back door opening and slamming shut could be heard before silence plagued the room.

"Something I said?" Bobby asked.

"No." John shook his head before sighing. "Bobby...there's something we need to tell you."

"What?" He didn't like the sound of this one bit.

"Sam..." John paused, clearly trying to find words.

The sound of creaking could be heard. John, Mary and Bobby all turned to see Sam stood at the top of the wooden stairs.

He was dressed in a dark red plaid shirt which could be seen hanging down below the hem of his too big, blue zip up hoodie. The oversized hoodie slid down over his wrists which seemed to be one of the reasons why Sam was wearing it so much.

"You okay, honey?"

Sam nodded before walking down the stairs.

"Hey, kid." Bobby smiled.

Sam smiled back, and honestly, it was one of the most beautiful thing Mary and John had seen in months. The sight of their little boy smiling brought hope that they were going to overcome this.

Bobby closed the gap between them and wrapped his arms around Sam.

Sam responded by hugging him back before they both pulled away.

"Everything okay, kid?" Bobby asked. "You said you'd been in hospital."

Sam nodded before turning to Mary and John. "Should I go find, Dean?"

"I can go if you want." John offered.

Sam shook his head. "He's upset because of me, I need to go."

John nodded at his youngest, knowing that he was probably the only one who actually stood a chance at getting through to Dean right now.

Sam walked off out the living room before heading out the door.

"So Sam rang you?"

Bobby nodded. "Tried to. It was only his last call that I was around to answer." He paused, knowing that there was something clearly left unsaid. "Why? Is everything okay?"

"It's getting better." Mary answered.

John took a deep breath. "Sam is suffering from depression. It wasn't so bad at first, but he just fell deeper and deeper until we felt it would be best if maybe he saw someone professional about it to see if they could help. We admitted Sam into a facility that dealt primarily with those suffering from depression...the facility had a two week settling in period where no visitors were allowed and no inwards calls could be made, only phone calls the patients made were allowed. Sam didn't contact us during the time he was in the facility, so we thought he was doing well..." He paused, taking another deep breath. "We got a call just over a week after he was admitted saying that they'd found him in one of the empty rooms of the ward...he'd slit his own wrists. The facilities visiting hours meant that we couldn't visit him until the next day, so the morning we went and took him out of there. We've been trying to get him to open up, but it's going slow. Which is understandable, but finding out that Sam has been calling you..." John smiled slightly. "...it's progress I suppose..."

Bobby felt sick. Sitting down in the armchair, his hands were shaking.

"He rang me from the facility didn't he?" He asked in a small voice.

"Bobby..."

"Didn't he?" Bobby's tone gained strength.

"It's looking like he did." John nodded.

Bobby took a deep breath. "The kid was scared and I missed his calls. I could've talked him out of it. I could have helped him. He could've..."

"Bobby...none of this is your fault. None of this is Sam's fault...it's something we have to deal with and move on." Mary stated softly. "We're helping Sam ourselves now, trying to show him that we're here for him and to listen if he wants to talk."

"Why would he call me?"

"Sam probably remembers back when they were younger and you looked after them. When I was being a dick, Sam probably made the association between you and safety. You looked after them and made sure they knew that nothing was gonna' happen to them and that they weren't going to be sent back to the group home. That could be why he called. He feels like you're not going to judge him, because you didn't then." John paused. "Sam was only ten when we found them, so he's grown up seeing you as someone who he knows will look after him and Dean. He probably associates me and Mary with the fact that they were taken from us. He connects that with not wanting to hurt us anymore, even though it wasn't their fault. Sam's shouldering so much guilt and pain at the moment, but no matter how many times we tell him that he doesn't need to be carrying it, he just nods. It's like he feels that he should be, which is what's stopping him from opening up to us."

* * *

><p>Finding Dean sat amongst the endless rows of scrap cars out in the lot, Sam cautiously walked over, hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans.<p>

"Dean..." He called softly.

No answer.

"This is because I rang Bobby instead of you, Mary and John. I know that, and I'm sorry, just please don't be mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you, Sam." He answered.

"You sure?" Sam asked.

Dean nodded.

Sam didn't believe him. "Dean...please..." He practically begged, embarrassed by how pathetic he knew he sounded.

"What do you want me to say, Sam?" Dean asked.

"Nothing..." Came Sam's quiet response. "...doesn't matter." He walked off back to the house, leaving his older brother to his thoughts.

* * *

><p>Walking inside, Sam saw Mary walk off upstairs and Bobby sat in the living room. He'd heard her and John nearly explain to Bobby what he'd done when he'd been stood at the top of the stairs, so there was no doubt that he knew now. He made his way into the living room.<p>

"So you know then?"

Bobby turned to see Sam standing behind the couch.

Sam walked around and stood beside it.

Bobby nodded, getting to his feet as he did so.

"It was stupid. I shouldn't have done it."

"Nothing that serious is stupid." Bobby stated. "Not when your life is on the line."

"I meant stupid in the way that I did that to them. Mary and John. I'm not even their kid. If I'd...actually done it, they would have had to deal with it all. They shouldn't have to. I'm not their problem...like I said, I'm not their kid. They've already lost us once, I couldn't make them lose one of us again. What I did was selfish, but I wasn't thinking." Sam was clearly angry at himself. "I'm so stupid! I hurt everyone around me and it's selfish. I would have said that they should've just left me there and get on with their lives, but they would have had the medical bills and they can't be expected to pay them. And now you're having to use your own hard earned money to pay for them." He paused. "I ruin everything, but I can't stop it. I've hurt Mary. I've hurt John, I've hurt Dean, and you..." He paused. "Dean won't even look at me. He's embarrassed that he's got such a fuck up for a little brother. But why wouldn't he be? I'm poison! I hurt people that I love because I can't be happy! My stupid brain won't let me be happy and it's hurting everyone! Mary cries herself to sleep at night. John spends hours researching how to help someone with depression in the hope that there's some miracle cure out there that's magically gonna' make me less fucked up and Dean either doesn't talk to me or treats me like I'm gonna' shatter if he says something wrong. And I hate it! I did _all_ of this! I caused all of this because I was stupid and self-centered and like always, I put stupid, pathetic me in front of the people I love. The people I care about most in this world. The only people who haven't abandoned me like everyone else in my life, and I screwed that up too!" His voice sounded tearful as he spoke about his family. "I want to get better, but I can't do it, Bobby...I'm broken, but I don't know how to fix myself." Sam's legs gave way beneath causing him to fall to his knees on the floor. Sam tried to push Bobby away as the older hunter knelt down in front of the youngest Winchester, beating his fists pathetically against his chest as he tried to struggle free before he broke down. Sobbing painfully, Sam was overcome with tears as he buried his head into Bobby's shoulder, feeling strong, arms wrap around him as he was engulfed in a comforting hug.

"It's okay, Sam...It's okay..."

Hearing the sound of Sam's sobs, Mary and John came rushing in. Their eyes widened at the sight of their youngest. Mary's heart wrenched, hating seeing his little boy so upset.

"It's all gonna' be okay."

* * *

><p>After his breakdown, they'd suggested that Sam should try and get some sleep. This left the Winchesters and Bobby sat in the living room downstairs. John had opened a bottle of whiskey, handing Bobby a glass. Taking a large gulp of the strong alcohol, Bobby placed the glass down onto the table before standing up. "I need to go and talk to Dean."<p>

"He should be out back."

Bobby nodded before leaving the house. It took only a few minutes to find the boy. He was sat on top of an old tumbledown stone wall looking utterly terrified. He was clearly lost in his own thoughts, and that was never good for anyone.

"Dean." Bobby spoke up softly, alerting the elder of the two Winchester brothers of his presence.

Dean looked up at Bobby.

"We need to talk."

Dean still didn't say anything.

"Dean, you need to talk your brother."

"What good's that gonna' do?" Dean asked, finally joining the conversation. "What could I possibly say to make this better?"

"It's not about making it better, Dean, it's about making him realize that he's hurting himself by not talking about how he's feeling." He paused, trying to find the softest way to relay what had happened to Dean. "Your brother just broke down in there, and I think what he really needs right now is his big brother, because that's one of the things that upsetting him most, he thinks that you hate him. When was the last time you had a full conversation with Sam, and I mean conversations where you both actually listened to each other?"

"The facility." Came Dean's small voiced reply.

Bobby sighed. "You boys need each other right now. You're stronger together." He paused. "Go and see your brother you idjit." Bobby smiled.

Dean nodded before smiling slightly. "Okay. Thanks, Bobby." He jumped down from the wall and walked off towards the house.

* * *

><p>Walking into their room, Dean noticed as Sam's head turned to him. He smiled back. "Hey, Sammy." Making his way over to Sam's bed, he looked down at his brother. "You gonna' bunk up or am I gonna' have to sit on the floor?"<p>

Sam shuffled along the bed, creating room for Dean.

Dean sat back against the headboard before turning to Sam. His little brother looked so scared and upset, it hurt Dean to see him so dispirited. "Come here." Lifted his arm up, Sam took the hint immediately and moved closer to his older brother, resting against his side. Dean smiled, it was just like they used to do when they were younger. "Sammy..." He began, trying to find enough strength in his voice as he did so. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Sam asked, looking up at him.

"I've been a dick these past few days when I should have been there for you."

"It's not your fault, Dean."

"It's not yours either, Sammy. None of this is." Dean reassured.

Sam looked down.

"Hey..." He spoke softly, gently placing a hand on his little brother's chin and lifting it so that he was looking into his eyes. "It's not your fault." A tear trickled down Sam's cheek, the sight of it made his heart wrench. "Sammy." He collected his little brother in his arms, wrapping them tightly around him as he held him close. Resting his chin lightly on the top of Sam's head, he never wanted to let his little brother go ever again. "We're gonna' get through this Sammy...together, okay?"

Sam nodded into his chest. "Okay, Dean." Came his soft reply.

Dean smiled as he gently stroked a hand down his brother's back. "Everything's gonna' be okay...I promise."


	26. Chapter 26

Walking into the kitchen, Bobby noticed Mary stood by the counter making a pot of coffee. Bobby had stayed the night in the guest room. He didn't want to leave the family after everything that had happened, feeling that he should be there to help out wherever he could.

Hearing him enter, Mary turned and smiled. "Morning." She grabbed another mug and placed it down on the table for him.

"Morning." He nodded before sitting down.

Mary poured coffee into the mug before doing the same with her own. She then sat down opposite.

Bobby placed his hands on the sides of the mug, the warmth radiating from it warming them nicely. "I think I might take the boys out today." He suggested. "If that's okay with you and John of course."

Lifting her mug, Mary blew at the dark contents. "Sounds good, the boys could use something to get their minds off everything." She then took a sip. "What are you thinking?"

"Not sure. I'll think of something." Bobby answered, taking a drink of his own coffee.

* * *

><p>Walking down the hallway, Bobby knocked on the door of the boys' room. He then waited a few seconds before opening it slightly. Looking round the door, he saw them. They were both in the same bed, Sam buried against Dean whose arms were wrapped protectively around him. Bobby knocked on the door once again, this time triggering a response.<p>

Dean groaned as he shuffled slightly before flickering his eyes open. He looked towards the door drowsily. "Hey..." Dean then turned to the bundle beside him. Placing a hand on his little brother's shoulder, he shook him gently. "Sammy..."

Sam's eyes soon flickered open too. He found Bobby's gaze after a few seconds. "Hi, Bobby..."

"You boys fancy going out today?" He asked.

"I'm up for it." Dean answered before noticing his brother's unease. He knew instantly that this was gonna' be one of Sam's bad days. He had them every so often when everything just caught up on him. It was always best to distract Sam from his own thoughts when he was having a bad day, and so Dean knew he had to persuade his brother that going out with Bobby would be best. "Hey...it'll be good to get out for a bit..." He whispered so that only Sam could hear him. "You might enjoy it more than just being cooped up in the house all day."

Sam nodded. "Okay."

"Good." Bobby smiled. "You boys get ready, I'll meet you downstairs." He closed the door behind him as he left the room.

Dean yawned as he stretched. "I hope it's food."

"Dude, you think with your stomach." Sam retorted. "I have no idea why you're not fat."

Dean pretended to be offended, screwing his face up. "Wishing that I'm fat...low blow, Sammy...low blow..." He shook his head with a smirk.

Sam smirked too, and Dean couldn't help but smile at the sight.

"Stop it." Sam responded shaking his head.

"Stop what?" Dean asked with cheeky innocence in his expression.

"You smile every time I'm not being miserable." He continued.

"Yeah, and?" Dean shrugged. "You tend to do that when other people are laughing."

"I don't know, I guess it just makes me feel guilty I suppose." Sam explained softly.

"Why?" Dean's expression softened with Sam's tone.

"Because you're stuck with Eeyore over here, and like I said, I'm miserable _all_ the time."

"You're not miserable _all_ the time, Sammy. Give yourself a little praise for that. This thing, we're gonna' kick it in the ass, just like everything else that's ever happened. I'm not trying to cure you, Sammy, I'm just want to help you get to a stage where your good days outweigh the bad. I just want you to wake up in the morning and feel happy. And if that takes months or years, then we'll ride it out together. I'll take you in whatever shape you're in, Sammy, because you're my little brother, and nothing is ever gonna' change that."

Unshed tears were threatening to fall in Sam's eyes as he looked at his brother. Smiling, he looked down briefly as he wiped them away. When he caught his older brother's gaze once again, he knew that there was a light at the end of the tunnel, and there was no doubt in his mind that Dean was gonna' help him reach it. "We better start now then. Good day number one." Sam spoke up.

Dean was bursting with pride as he looked at his little brother. "Sounds good, Sammy."


End file.
